Widening Perspective
by Nemonite
Summary: A near-fatal car crash leaves a young man stuck in a wheelchair, his legs permanently lost. Forced into abruptly changing his life to fit his new dilemma, will he be able to adjust to his new strange life in his new, stranger school? Based off of the visual novel Katawa Shoujo. It will have, unless otherwise notified, all of the same characters, with the addition of Mac O'Leary.
1. Prologue

**Prologue: Accident**

**Hello and welcome, readers! To those that don't know, this story is based off of the visual novel/game Katawa Shoujo. If you don't know it/ haven't played it, I ****HIGHLY ****recommend it. It was one of, if not the most inspiring work of fiction I have ever had the delight of experiencing. This story likely will not be particularly long, as it will only cover one year of school, as of now. That may change later, or I may make a sequel if I finish it. I don't know.**

**Now, as a warning. I am not Japanese, nor do I have any extensive knowledge of Japanese customs, trends, or anything like that. Everything I have now is based off of my limited existing knowledge of the culture, and everything that I can find from a quick Google search. If you find inconsistencies, please let me know, and I will try and fix them. Enjoy the story!**

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If there's one thing I've learned… it's that life is a bitch.

That wasn't the first thought in my mind during my stay in the hospital, but it was definitely a recurring theme.

Well, I suppose I'm getting a little ahead of myself. My name is Mac O'Leary. I have short brown hair, hazel-green eyes, I wear glasses, and am possibly more than a few pounds overweight.

Four weeks ago, I would have told you that I was an average-looking guy, attending an average high school, living an overwhelmingly average life. Four weeks ago, I had an average social life, with average friends, doing average things. Four weeks ago, I wouldn't have thought twice about getting into a car with a friend who'd had a little too much to drink. Four weeks ago, I could never have imagined how violently my poor judgment would disrupt my life.

Four weeks ago, I lost a friend.

Four weeks ago, I lost my legs.

I lay awake on the hospital bed. My eyes fixated on the knee-length stubs that used to be my legs.

I remember every detail with frightening clarity. Jiro, in his drunken stupor, didn't notice the light going red. We flew through the intersection much faster than we should have been, and t-boned a car traveling perpendicular to us. We slammed into the much larger car, and the dashboard caved inwards, crushing my legs. I blacked out instantly after that.

The doctors told me that there was nothing they could do to save them. The bones had been smashed in so many places, and the arteries had been diced up so badly by the bone and metal that I would have bled out if they hadn't removed them.

And Jiro… Jiro they said had died on impact. They didn't tell me exactly how, but given the fact that he had neglected to put on a seat belt, it wasn't a stretch of the imagination to figure out how.

Jiro was a friend. Though I didn't know him as well as I should have, I'd still lost someone I cared about. My mind, I think, hasn't quite caught up with this frightening realization just yet.

Though I found myself in a Japanese hospital, it's obvious simply from my name and appearance that I am not Japanese. I'm an American exchange student, or was, anyways. Though my Japanese isn't stellar, I understand the doctors enough to comprehend that me returning to school simply wasn't possible. My previous school wasn't situated to handle a 'special case' like myself, and the physical therapy required to get me into a pair of prosthetics would take up a fair chunk of my senior year anyways.

It was April 1st. The school year was starting today. I wonder how many people would even realize I'd stopped coming to school?

The doctors had an alternative to my unfortunate dilemma. 'Special' schools, they called them. Institutions specifically designed for the physically or mentally handicapped. If I so wished, and my family was so inclined to pay, I could enroll immediately with a wheelchair. Possibly even do some physical therapy to get me into a prosthetic pair of legs while I was there.

It didn't take long for me to come to a conclusion. I came to Japan because of their exceptional education. I'd already invested a good amount of money into my education. What's a little more?

I shifted my legs, my attempts to regrow my legs on willpower alone so far unsuccessful. I was going to be released from the hospital later today, and arrangements for travel had already been made. It had been several days since my parents and I had decided on a school. Yamaku High School.

It had some incredible recommendations, with a reasonably modest tuition. Since it was only going to be for this year, money was not going to be an issue. It catered exclusively to the physically disabled, had many facilities for physical therapy, on-site living accommodations, and a highly-trained twenty-four hour nursing staff. Not to mention the wheelchair access that most 'normal' schools didn't have.

I leaned backwards, a sigh escaping my lips. A mixture of boredom and anxiety balled into one long exhale. Four weeks I'd been stuck in this bed, barring my many surgeries. I noted that I seemed remarkably… at ease with everything, recent events considered. I shrugged it off. I'd never been good at dealing with things emotionally. Who's to say that this will be any different?

I'm not the only one that was curious about my temperament. I hadn't gotten many visitors. A couple of classmates I kind of knew. Some of which were only there for Jiro's memory. I wanted to ask them why they bothered visiting me if they didn't even know me, but I didn't. My parents flew in from the States to visit me, naturally. My mother and father surely were inquisitive about my mental state. I assured them I was fine. They seemed to accept it, if only on the surface. They reassured me that I could attend any of the schools I wanted; that price was not a factor. I almost laughed out loud at that.

My parents are good people, but they're the type of people that try and solve everything with money. They were the kind of parents that tried to make up for their so-so parenting skills by making every superficial aspect of life luxurious. Still, I love them. I always will. They may not be the best parents in the world, but they've always loved and cared for me. That's what counts, I guess.

They left only a couple days after arriving. Try as they might, they could only secure a few days away from their respective jobs.

My thoughts were interrupted by my door being opened. I winced a little as I saw the front two wheels of an expensive-looking wheelchair get pushed in through the door. This was clearly my parents' doing. Pushing the wheelchair was a short, mousey nurse with short, black hair. She glanced at the chart at the foot of my bed briefly, frowning a little.

"Mister… O.. O'le…ary?" she said tentatively, clearly having trouble with the pronunciation. I used to laugh whenever a new person I met would inevitably mispronounce it, but today I just didn't have it in me to laugh.

I smiled, nodding as I scooted over to the edge of my bed.

"Time to go?" I asked. My Japanese was a little bit choppy, but it had improved a fair amount during my stay at the hospital. I had many, many idle chats with the medical staff to try and fend off boredom.

"Yes. Are you ready?" she asked, clearly pleased that I spoke her language.

I nodded again, grabbing the handles of the wheelchair as I clumsily levered myself into the seat. I nearly fell, but shook my head at the nurse as she tried to help. If there was one thing I _wasn't_ going to do, it was let myself become dependent on everyone around me. I'm not a child anymore. I'll deal with this on my own.

I got comfortable in the chair, gripping the wheel bars as I pushed myself forward, groaning. I would need to either lose a few pounds, or acquire some serious upper body strength. Despite losing the massive weight of my legs from the knee down, it was still tough to get the chair moving at first. I grunted at the nurse as she tried to grab the handles in back, stopping the attempt to help me. The first thing I'm going to do with this chair is get the push handles on the back sawed off.

Glancing back at my room one last time, I sighed. It felt like I was walking through some metaphorical gateway. It was like I was leaving any semblance of my old, normal life behind by leaving this room. Ridiculous, of course. My old life got dumped into whatever meat bucket my legs ended up in. I shook my head and pushed forward, moving towards my new, abnormal life.

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**Well, that's the prologue, guys. I hope you're liking it so far. Next chapter we're going to jump straight into the first day of school, which will be the following day, April 2****nd****.**

**Remember to read and review! I can't refine this rough ore into a polished gem without your input!**

**And don't hate me if I spontaneously stop writing! Because I do that sometimes! **


	2. Chapter 1: Normal

**Chapter 1: Normal**

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Yamaku High School was… not quite what I was expecting.

A school for the physically disabled gave off the impression of being a large hospital with classrooms. Boy, was I off base.

I stared at the enormous campus in front of me. There were large, looming brick buildings taking up the center, being surrounded by lush grassy fields and trees. Pathways striped back and forth through the fields, connecting the buildings. I saw shrubbery lining the pathways around the school, benches lined out meticulously for anyone feeling like taking a rest.

I realized that my mouth was hanging open a little and I quickly snapped it shut, glancing around. It was about ten in the morning, so there was a pretty good chance that everyone was in their pre-lunch classes right now. The quiet campus was a little unnerving as I rolled myself forward, suddenly glad that my things would be delivered later.

I pushed forward towards what looked like the main building. Hitting the wheelchair ramp, I immediately strained a little, my arms already aching a little from the moving around I'd done yesterday. I grunted, finally getting some momentum going as I pushed myself upwards, my muscles protesting this war against gravity. I grabbed the railing of the ramp, pulling my chair up the rest of the way as I looked back down the ramp, idly contemplating if that was the most pathetic display of physical prowess ever witnessed by man.

My breath came out in somewhat-strangled gasps as I rolled in through the front doors. There was a ramp leading up to the next floor just ahead of me. Rows of classrooms seemed to border either side of the hallway on the upper floor as I glanced up at it.

A faint echo cascaded down from the ramp. A girl's voice drifting through the hallways, although it appeared to be getting closer.

"-y didn't you get two orange sodas, Shicchan? I wanted one too~" came a bubbly, yet dispirited voice. It sounded like it was just around the corner.

A snap resounded through the hall, unusually loud.

"Well, maybe I wanted one for all of my hard work this morning~!" came the bubbly voice again. I frowned, not hearing whoever she was talking to.

"Well I know you have more responsibilities than me Shicchan, but e-" It was at that moment that the voice finally made it around the corner. A bright pink head of hair bounced around the corner. Looking down, the nauseatingly-bright hair framed the cute, round face of a girl around my age, before going down her shoulders, ending in a pair of strange drill-shaped pigtails that hung down over her shoulders. She was wearing the schools white and green girl's uniform.

Beside her was a slightly shorter girl with dark blue hair, who was currently waving her arms frantically at her companion. She was wearing a pair of glasses similar to mine, and had a much less round face. She too was wearing the uniform, and appeared to be about my age.

Catching sight of me is what stopped the pink-haired girl's speech, though I noticed that her hands were still moving. Making certain symbols. Sign language, maybe? But… why do sign language while talking?

I noticed that I had caught the dark-haired girl's attention, too. I saw both of their eyes immediately go to my legs and wheelchair, causing me to shift uncomfortably. They noticed my nervousness as well.

The pink-haired one burst into a skipping-jog, a huge smile on her face as she came down the ramp, getting closer to me.

"Hi there! I don't know you! Wahahaha~" she announced as she got closer, stopping a few feet away, her hands still doing the sign language.

I blinked, still trying to take this all in as I glanced at her friend. She was staring at me. Her eyes were very serious and piercing, like she was sizing me up, or analyzing me.

"Ah… er… h-hi?" I managed to squeak out, giving a mild wave.

"Are you new?" she inquired, giggling a little as she leaned in closer, glancing me over. A loud snap from her dark-haired companion got her attention, her head snapping back over to her.

I watched the dark-haired girl's hand gliding through the air, doing the same thing as the other girl was earlier. So she's mute.

"Oh, right!" the bubbly girl exclaims, catching me off-guard. "Introductions! Wahaha~"

I was thoroughly confused at this point, though apparently the dark-haired girl had answered her friend's question.

"I'm Misha!" the pink-haired one nearly yelled, almost shoving her hand into my chest. I cautiously shook it, nodding as I glanced over at the other girl. "And that's Shicchan!" Misha finished, giggling some more. After she finished shaking my hand, it immediately began doing sign language again.

Wait… why would she be signing as well? Unless…

I glanced at the dark-haired one, and experimentally cleared my throat. Loudly.

Misha's head snapped back at me immediately, blinking curiously. The dark-haired girl's eyes followed Misha's movements, but didn't move towards the sound of my voice.

So she's mute and deaf.

Misha snapped out of her daze after a moment. "Whoops. That's Shizune, not Shicchan. Wahaha~ But she's Shicchan to me!"

"R-right… okay. Misha? That's an unusual name." I managed, squinting as my frustrated brain tried to process the information.

"Weeeeelll, my real name is Mikado Shiina, but I like Misha! Haha!" she yelled, jumping a little. A snap brings her attention back to Shizune, who is signing at her sharply, glancing at me sideways. She seemed annoyed.

"Shiichan says that the introduction needs to be formal~" she said, almost bummed. "So, she is Hakamichi Shizune, Student Council President and Class Representative of 3-3!" she declared, clearly not pleased with having to do the entire introduction.

"…" more of Shizune's signing. She points at me sharply.

"Oh, yeah~! Who are you?" Misha asks, giggling as she rolls on the balls of her feet, her energy demanding to escape in any way possible."

This is an incredibly awkward introduction. "I'm, er.. Mac O'Leary. It says here I'm supposed to be in class 3-1."

Misha turns to Shizune, quickly translating my words. Yep. Definitely deaf and mute. Shizune signs her reply, before smiling at me, an unfamiliar look crossing her features. Similar to a lion looking at its next meal.

"Shiichan says that you're not so lucky to be in that class. Our class is superior in every way~" Misha exclaims.

"Uh… huh. Well, I guess I'll just have to fend for myself…" I mumble, wheeling forward, eager to be away from these two. They seem nice… but they're so damn strange.

I jerk forward as a foot presses itself against the front wheel of my chair. Glancing up, I grimace as I see Shizune, her arms crossed.

"Ah~ Ah~ Aaaahh~" Misha translates, grinning. "If it's your first day, then it's school policy that you meet up with your homeroom teacher first! And as Student Council President, I would be neglecting my obligations by not… escorting you." Misha paused at the end of the statement for effect, perfectly capturing the inflection that I'm sure Shizune had intended.

"Well, then, I suppose it's a good thing that I'm already here." Came a voice off to our right.

Misha yelped, spinning around as she caught sight of the tall, lanky man standing behind her. He had short brown hair like my own, and a pair of reading glasses on the bridge of his nose, filtering his onyx-black eyes. He was wearing a long brown trench coat that was covering his teaching attire.

He caught Shizune's attention as well, who immediately frowned, realizing that she wouldn't be able to drag me to his class.

"Run along, Mikado, Hakamichi. I've got it from here." He said, smiling pleasantly as he winks in my direction. I doubt I'd ever been so relieved to see a teacher.

Misha looked a touch dismayed, but waved it off quickly, waving me goodbye as she skipped back down the hallway. Shizune wasn't far behind her, giving me a small wave as well as she vanished around a corner.

I let out breath that I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

The lanky man chuckled at my sigh, glancing down at me. "You must be Mac O'Leary, right?"

I blinked, his pronunciation of my name coming out flawlessly.

He chuckled again as I nodded, extending his hand down to me. "_Enki Isamu. I'll be your homeroom and English teacher_." He said in perfect English, his accent just barely detectable.

I smirked, "_Well, at least you don't have to worry about me performing poorly in your class_." I replied, my English flawless despite my extended stay in Japan. English had always been an easy subject to me, naturally.

He laughed, taking my hand as he shook it. "I'd prefer if you called me either teacher or Enki in class, however. I like to retain some formalities in the classroom."

I nodded, understanding what he meant. It was a relief to know that my homeroom teacher was a cool guy. It was a further relief to know that he was a cool guy that I wouldn't disappoint with poor grades.

"Now, then. I managed to sneak away from my class to meet you out here, but I can't be gone for long." He said, moving to push my wheelchair almost on a reflex. I twitched, immediately pushing myself forward, away from his reach. This earned me a raised eyebrow, but he didn't push the issue. "You need to see our head nurse, first. He'll check up on you and make sure you're good for class. If it doesn't take too long, then you can come by. If not, then I'll see you tomorrow." He said, nodding.

"The nurse's office is right out these front doors, and to the right. It's the first building right along that path right outside." He said, gesturing past the doors. "That's also the building where they have the physical therapy equipment, should you feel you need them." He continued, choosing what he says carefully.

I thanked him, cutting the conversation short as I wheeled myself back out the front doors, sighing in relief. This has already been a long day.

The nurse faculty building wasn't hard to find. Enki had given pretty good directions. I wheeled myself up the ramp, noting happily that the incline was much less steep.

I pushed my chair down a long hallway, seeing an abundance of unused rooms on either side of me, even passing a swimming pool. I sighed wistfully as I glanced down at my legs. I'm going to miss swimming.

Approaching the only open door, I slowed down. Peering around the corner of the doorway, I glanced inside the room. Sitting in a chair on the far side of the room was a man who had his back turned to me. He had dark purple hair, a strange color for a man, and was wearing a bleached white medical coat.

I pushed myself around the corner, clearing my throat a little, feeling nervous.

The man turned around, exposing the nametag on his coat reading 'Chief Nurse'. He smiled at me, browsing briefly for a clipboard before snatching one up, walking over to me. I'd grown to hate clipboards during my time in the hospital.

"Ahh, you must be Mr. O'Leary." He said, mildly stumbling over my name. I grinned.

Catching my amusement at his mispronunciation, he grinned back. "Well then, Mac. I probably wouldn't have to glance at a chart to know why you're here, so…"

I grimace at the crude remark, causing him to frown. "Ah, ah. Sorry." He babbles out, rubbing the back of his head. "You'll have to excuse me. We haven't gotten a new student in awhile, and most kids are used to it by now…"

I shook my head. "No, it's fine. I'm just… getting used to it." I reply, chuckling grimly.

An awkward silence passes briefly.

The nurse speaks up again. "Well, anyways. Untie and roll up your pant legs, would ya? I need to get your bandages off and see how you're healing. Then we can start working on getting you out of this chair." He catches himself, glancing at me. "You DO want physical therapy for a pair of prosthetics, right?"

I nod, quickly untying my pants out of the knots on the legs, rolling them up. My bandages are blood-stained and dirty, not having been changed in a couple days.

"Good lord. Who dressed this wound? Genghis Khan?" the Nurse asked, genuinely shocked. I snorted involuntarily.

He looked at me sharply, his previously playful demeanor gone in a heartbeat. "This is very serious. It's extremely easy for you to get an infection at this stage of the healing process." He glances at my legs, "And this is a very, very bad place to get infected. It's so close to major bloodstreams that go straight to your vital organs."

I'm slightly taken aback by his quick personality change, blinking. "O-oh."

He shakes it off, undoing the bandages. I wince a little as the blood causes my bandages to stick to my legs slightly.

"Ah, ah. Yeah. See. You've got a minor infection on your right leg." He says, frowning deeply. "What hospital were you in? I need to call those idiots and get them sent back to med school."

He doesn't listen for a response, quickly muttering to himself, grabbing some fresh bandages, what appears to be disinfectant ointment, and a spray bottle. "Now, this is gonna sting a bit." He says, holding the bottle for emphasis. "However, it's imperative that we clean up this infection, and get it wrapped up in some clean bandages."

I say nothing, just nodding as I set my jaw, anticipating the pain as he lowers the bottle. I grip my seat as he lightly mists both of my legs, the disinfectant stinging the sensitive area as I grunt, breathing deeply.

It's over quickly, and the Nurse spreads some disinfecting cream along the bandages, before beginning to wrap my legs again. Thankfully, the cream doesn't sting. To the contrary, it provides a cool, soothing sensation.

"Alright. Well, I'm going to give you several bottles of this cream, and enough bandages to make World War II look like harsh verbal debate." He stated, his joking mood seeming to return. "I'll need you to coat the bandages in the cream lightly before wrapping."

He stood up, jotting some things down on his clipboard. "Make sure to change those twice a day until I give you permission to stop. You are to come here at least once a day, so I can monitor the progress of the infection. Understood?" he asked, looking at me sternly.

I nodded stupidly, blinking.

"And theeeese…" the Nurse picks up several bottles of pills and tosses them on my lap. "These are your antibiotics. You are to take two of these every twelve hours. Preferably one in the morning, and o-"

He stops mid-sentence, his ear catching something as he looks up. A moment later, I hear a light, springy sound echoing down the halls, approaching abnormally fast. "Oh, boy." He mumbles, staring at the door.

"Paging Nurse Asshole!" was the first sentence I heard out of our interruption as she came bursting through the doorway.

The first thing I noticed was what was making the spring-like noise; a pair of prosthetic running legs. My eyes wandered up, taking in the girl that they were attached to. She was extremely petite, and the little bits of her legs that showed below her running shorts were thin, yet interestingly muscular down to the knee, where her prosthetics started. Along with the shorts, she was wearing a running shirt. She had light-brown hair that was pulled into two pigtails, and emerald green eyes.

She looked at me, her eyes trailing down... and down… before finally rolling over my wheelchair and legs. For one small, fleeting second a look of horror crossed her eyes, and I flinched involuntarily, squirming.

But, the second passed. "O-oh. Sorry…" she mumbled. She looked a little stunned still, her eyes locked on my wheelchair like it was some oppressive dictator. Well, it sort of was, I guess.

"Emi. You're very, very late." The nurse smoothly replied, trying to iron over the interruption.

Emi got over what was troubling her quickly, looking back at the Nurse. "Yeah? Well I accidentally overslept this morning because of your crappy cold medicine! I had to complete my run for the day!" she said it as if it was a valid excuse. I smiled.

I had a feeling that this sort of discourse was common between the two. It was only made stronger when the Nurse chuckled, ruffing up Emi's hair playfully. She glared at him mockingly, smirking.

The Nurse turned back to me, resuming our conversation. "Now, remember to take these twice a day, Mac. We don't want that infection getting any worse. Off you go!" he commanded, chuckling as he waved enthusiastically at the door.

I nodded, wheeling myself out, avoiding looking at Emi, even though I could feel her stare on the back of my head.

I turned the corner, and made the wheelchair equivalent of a dead sprint, eager to get away from that awkward moment as fast as possible. I'd expected to run into similar students, but that didn't stop it from fazing me.

Sighing, I wheeled out the door of the nurse's building, grinning as I hear the bell signaling the lunch break chime. "Perfect." I chirp, rather cheerfully. I was starving.

Packing my medical supplies into the back slot on my wheelchair, I quickly make it to the cafeteria after getting some directions from a rather confused-looking girl who had red hair and no arms. After a long, uncomfortable wait, I had my lunch. Setting it on my lap, I wheeled out of the cafeteria. Given the built-on stools, there was really nowhere in there for me to eat.

I lightly rolled through the first floor hall, noting the various classrooms. Each one was either occupied, or closed for the lunch break. Slightly disheartened, I made my way up to the second floor via the ramp. About halfway down the second floor I spotted the library. Duely noted, though I'm sure they forbid food in there, so that's out for a location to eat.

Towards the end of the second floor, I finally spot an open door. It was ajar just a little, and a small portion of the day's light filtering through into the hallway from the classroom. It was towards the back of the school; not much of the ruckus reached this far back. It was quiet. Peaceful.

Nudging the door open, I flinched as it groaned, opening much more loudly than I'd hoped for. Poking my head in, I stopped, glancing at the lone figure sitting in the classroom. She was facing away, her light-blonde hair reflecting the sunlight beautifully as she took a sip of tea. Her head tilting in my direction as her eyes opened a little, revealing the cloudy-blue orbs.

"Hello?" she asked, still not entirely facing me. Her eyes were unfocused, looking at an irrelevant part of the room.

"U-uh… oh… s-sorry. I was looking for a place to eat." I stammered, a little unnerved.

She smiled, her ears twitching a little. I stared at her eyes, quickly coming to the realization that this girl was blind. "By all means, come in. Though I'm afraid I don't recognize your voice…" she trailed off, leaving me to declare my identity.

"Ah, um. My name's Mac O'Leary. I'm new here." I mumble, wheeling myself in a little. My wheelchair catches on the doorframe, knocking against it a little as I force myself over. Her ears twitch again, picking up the sound.

"Ah…" she replied, her brow furrowing a little. "Nice to meet you, Mac. I am Satou Lilly. You may call me Lilly, if you like."

It seemed like there was more on her mind. I wheeled in more, moving one of the chairs out of the way as I sit across from her, a little nervous.

"If… if you don't mind my asking, Mac… are you in a wheelchair, by chance?" she asked with startling accuracy.

I blinked, caught off-guard once again as I stammered. "A-ah... w-well…"

Lilly gasped a little, looking worried. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry…"

Her face made me feel like I'd just kicked a puppy. "No! Not at all." I recovered, laughing a little. "Yeah, I am in a wheelchair."

She seemed relieved, smiling gently as she took another sip of tea, not pressing the issue.

As the conversation seems to have died, I silently began eating, trying to make as little noise as possible in the process. I watched Lilly drink her tea. Her posture, and general attitude made me think that this girl came from a social class well above my own. It made me feel weird to eat next to her.

Despite being blind, she didn't show it often. Her hands move precisely across the table, her fingertips brushing the various cups and spoons that lay across the table, memorizing them quite discretely.

I suddenly felt quite ashamed for staring, blushing a little as I looked away.

"You'll have to forgive my curiosity today, Mac… but where are you from?" she questioned me; her head cocked in my direction a little.

I raised an eyebrow. Despite not being able to see my obviously-American face, the name should be a dead giveaway. I had a feeling that this was her way of avoiding seeming presumptuous. "I transferred from the United States, but my name is Irish."

Lilly nodded, not a trace of surprise crossing her features. So I was right.

She surprised me a little when she spoke next. "_I take it then, that you speak fluent English_?" she inquired, her English nearly flawless.

I grinned, replying back. "_Yeah. Though it surprises me a little that you're so fluent. There's not much of an accent at all_."

She smiled that cute smile of hers, "Ah. Half of my family originates from Scotland. My parents ensured that I didn't forget my Scottish roots." She replied, giggling gently.

"That explains the hair…" I mumbled, the words tumbling out of my mouth, stunning myself. "Ah, I mean… that is…" I babbled, at a loss for words.

She laughed, covering her mouth a little. "It's alright. I get that quite a lot."

I smiled sheepishly before frowning, realizing she couldn't see it. I settled for an awkward laugh.

"Do, uh… you come here often?" I asked, trying to avoid another silence.

Lilly nodded, smiling a little. "Yes, actually. Although I'm not always alone in here."

"Oh…" I trailed off, slightly disheartened.

She picked up the disappointment in my voice immediately, tilting your head. "Is something wrong?"

I frowned at her surprisingly astute observational skills. "No, it's not that. I just wouldn't want to… disrupt anything by dropping in here often, since this seems like a nice place to eat…" my voice came off more flustered than I'd hoped, eliciting a giggle from Lilly.

"No, no. I doubt you'd be disrupting anything at all. You don't seem like the type of person to be loud and obnoxious." Lilly said, her eyes closing into a smile. "My friend is rather shy, and she's not overly fond of loud people."

I chuckled, finishing up the last of my lunch. "No worries there. I've always been rather proud of my mellow disposition."

Lilly smiled, nodding accordingly. "Well, feel free to come by again tomorrow, or whenever you feel like." She replied. "I may not be here, as I'm the class representative for 3-2, and I'm often called away for class rep. duties, but I'm sure Hanako could use the company in my absence." She finished.

I gathered that Hanako was the shy friend. My thoughts were interrupted by the bell, chiming the end of the lunch break.

Lilly seemed surprised. "My, my. How time flies. I apologize for leaving so abruptly, Mac, but I should have been back at class 10 minutes ago." She stood up gracefully, her hand gripping the handle of a retractable cane that unfolded neatly, the tip prodding the floor. "It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She finished, holding out her hand delicately in my general direction.

I smiled, lightly taking her hand as I shook it gently. Her skin was shockingly soft against my own, noticeably rougher hands. I almost felt embarrassed. But, it made sense. I let go of her hand after two brief shakes, allowing her to start moving towards the door.

"Likewise." I mumbled, sighing.

Lilly quickly made her way out of the classroom, the soft tapping of her cane on the hall floor getting quieter and quieter before disappearing altogether.

I glanced at the clock, sighing. I could go to my classes, or I could just skip the rest of the day. Yawning tiredly, I glanced out the window, the sun on my arms melting away any previous urge I'd had to be productive. In for a penny, in for a pound, I suppose. I waited a few minutes, making sure the halls had mostly cleared before slipping out of the peaceful room. I closed the door behind me before wheeling myself down to the first floor. My stuff should have been delivered by now. Might as well go see my new living quarters.

The boys' dormitories weren't particularly stellar, compared to the rest of the school. They had the same outer layout of brick, but the inside seemed… less organized. Like the building had been used for something else before. I wheeled myself up the ramp to the back entrance, nudging open the door.

The hall my room was on wasn't particularly high up, thankfully. I arrived on the floor only mildly out of breath, noting curiously that it was nearly deserted. Well, the absence of students was a given, but none of the rooms appeared to be in use, aside from one at the very end of the hall.

I pushed myself forward, not noticing until too late the string that was hanging across the hall. Nudging the string with my wheel, I watched in mild curiosity as it went taut. I followed the string up the wall of the hall, across the ceiling, and down towards the only occupied room, held up by loose staples. The strings went into the room, and I heard a mild jingling sound occur from inside the room. I stared blankly at the medieval warning system, suddenly hoping I was on the wrong floor.

A series of clunks and metallic sound echoed from down the hall. I recognized them eventually as the sound of heavy-duty locks being unlocked.

I continued to sit there, watching the scene unfold. Mildly fascinated, yet also mildly horrified that whoever was coming out of that room shares the same living area as me. The door swung open, and a boy around my age poked his head out. I noticed immediately that he had possibly the thickest, most ridiculous looking glasses on his face that I had ever seen. He had short, blackish-brown here, and a gold and red scarf that hung over his school uniform.

"I've finally caught you!" he yelled down the hall. Though, from my perspective, it didn't appear that he was in a particular position to be catching anyone. "You thought you could keep snooping around here, did you?" he asked, walking towards me; my fascination quickly turning to worry as I started to wonder if he was dangerous.

"Well, no more! Once I thoroughly interrogate you, your feminist conspiracy will finally be undone! And you will forever be banished, along with your leaders!" he declared, marching right up to me before stopping. His gaze passed clear over the top of my head, yet he didn't stop talking.

He squinted, frowning a little. "Oho! So, the feminists have finally unlocked the secrets to invisibility, hmm? Well… two can play at this game!" in a flourishing manner, he turned to the wall, attempting to hit the light switch which was not only on the opposite wall, but clear down at the end of the hall, near his room.

He began… almost fondling the wall, his expression becoming more and more upset as he searched for the light switch. Was this guy for real?

"Um…" I started, trying to get him to stop doing whatever he was doing. "I'm… not a feminist."

He rounded on my voice, looking down at me as he squinted, his eyes straining to see me. He must be at least partially blind. "That's exactly what a feminist would say!" he declared.

"I… don't think so." I replied, his logic making me smile. "I'm pretty sure most feminists are fairly out-spoken about it."

He leaned down, his voice lowering to a whisper. "Hey, man. Not so loud, alright? The walls have ears. This is just a show for the feminists. They need to believe that we don't trust each other. Otherwise, it's all for naught."

I didn't even bother trying to understand what he meant by that. This guy has a pretty serious issue with feminists. Since Yamaku wasn't a school for the mentally impaired, I didn't feel even the least bit guilty about playing along.

"Sure, sure, man." I said, whispering. I raised my voice a little. "So what's your name, non-feminist?" I asked casually, grinning to myself.

"Kenji." He replied rather succinctly. "But you already knew that, didn't you? I know that you have my dossier tucked away in your secret hideout."

"Oh, absolutely. We know all about what you did last summer." I chuckled at the reference, but Kenji seemed frozen at my words, his face a mask of horror. I suddenly wondered if he'd murdered someone last summer.

"Hey, man! Not so loud about such sensitive information!" he whispered frantically, leaning down to my level. "I'm 38% sure that the feminists actually don't know about last summer."

I smirked, almost laughing. "Yeah? Well how do you know that I'm not a feminist?"

"I can always tell, man. I've got an intuition like a bloodhound." He responded, patting my shoulder.

I decided to not question his… interesting thought process. Rather, I just wanted this rather odd conversation to be over.

"Right, right. Well, I gotta go, Kenji. I'm in the middle of a rather hectic operation involving a feminist Supercomputer in Nepal. No time to chat." I whispered, wheeling past him.

Kenji gave a frightened yelp, his eyes going wide as I vaguely heard him whisper, "Not again…" before he dashed back into his room, slapping all the locks into place.

I raised an eyebrow, contemplating on the fact that I'd never get those ten minutes of my life back. Thankfully, my room was a ways down the hall from Kenji's. I didn't want to have to be in a room where I could possibly hear what goes on in that man's room. I'd probably go insane.

Sighing, I reached my room. I opened the door, smiling to myself as I noticed that my things had already arrived, including my uniform. I took one look at the long legs and groaned. I wondered if they'd let me convert them into shorts. The room wasn't terribly large, but that was fine. I'd gotten used to smaller living spaces since coming to Japan. The bed seemed cozy enough, and the window had thick curtains. That's all I honestly cared about.

I sat idly for a moment, staring at my room. As nice as it was, I definitely didn't want to spend much time in here. I'd potentially die of boredom. I took a sideways glance at my uniform again. There were still a few hours of classes… I could head back up there, if I so desired. And it was Friday, so tomorrow was a half-day. Eh, screw it. I'll start tomorrow.

I spent the rest of the afternoon lounging around the dorms. It was dark well before I started feeling tired, and I managed to pull myself into bed, pulling the covers up over my shoulders. I dejectedly looked out the window, sighing.

So this is normal now, huh?

* * *

**Wooh! Chapter 1 is officially done. Now, I had the prologue and chapter one typed out prior to publishing them. I'm going to be working on chapter 2 shortly, but I wanted you guys to have enough of the story up to properly give a review.**

**Hisao will be appearing in this story. It won't be for a couple of days yet, but Hisao will be arriving on Monday, likely in chapter 2 or 3. Though the story will be told from Mac's point of view, I intend on making Hisao a key part of it. Don't fret.**

**I want to establish that I am trying as hard as possible to get character personalities right. My worst fear for this story, above all else is that I misrepresent the characters. If you guys have any constructive criticism about that, I'd love to hear it.**

**Anyways, read and review! :)**


	3. Chapter 2: Adaptation

**Chapter 2: Adaptation**

* * *

My eyes opened groggily. Looking towards the table next to my bed, I spied my clock. It was only 6:30 AM. School wouldn't start for a couple hours, yet.

Sitting up, I stretched, working the kinks out of my neck from sleeping on it weird. I glanced flatly at the bottles of pills sitting next to my clock. Wonderful.  
I choked down two of the enormous antibiotic pills, nearly gagging as I shuddered, the taste making me nauseous.

Feeling too restless to head back to sleep, I got up, yawning. I quickly unwrapped my legs, changing the bandages. I noted with some relief that the infected leg was significantly less tender this morning. That nurse must really know his stuff.

Tossing the old, used bandages away, I quickly got out of bed, dragging myself into my wheelchair. I swiftly wheeled myself downstairs to the dormitory bathrooms, suddenly grateful that I'd gotten up so early. I quickly bathed and got dressed into my uniform, sighing. Bathing without legs was a particularly awkward event, and it'd only be stranger with other people trying not to stare.

Banishing the thought, I wheeled myself out of the dormitories, breathing in the crisp morning air. It was a little too early to head to the Nurse for the day… I wonder what all there is to do around here?

I wandered around aimlessly for about 10 minutes, lost in thought. I blinked as I came to a stop, having found myself next to what appeared to be the school track. My heart sunk a little as I looked at the circular asphalt track. I was never particularly athletic, but something about the realization that I could never do it again made me miss it nonetheless.

A familiar noise caught my attention, and my eyes caught a fast-moving blur in my peripheral vision. Someone was out here already, and they were _moving_.

In fact, it was someone I'd already met.

Emi, the girl from the Nurse's office, bolted around the track, her running prosthetics sending her flying forward with each step. I couldn't help but stare. She was fast. Probably the fastest track runner I'd ever seen in a school.

My jaw hung open a little as I watched the bizarre sight. My disbelief only matched by the rising sense of hope. Now _that_ is impressive.

I wheeled a little bit closer, trying not to draw too much attention to myself as I moved into the shadow of the bleachers, sitting comfortably. I felt bad about staring at her, but it was just so outstanding. I glanced down at my own legs, smiling. Could I be like that again someday?

The increasing volume of her running legs caught my attention. It would appear that I had not remained as invisible as I'd wished.

My head snapped up, watching as Emi cautiously walked over to me, bouncing a little. She had a strange expression on her face; a mixture between curiosity and trepidation. In the end, it appeared that her curiosity won out, and she bounded on over, smiling.

"Hi there!" she chirped, bouncing on her legs a little, distracting me.

"Uh, hi. Emi, was it?" I replied, tilting my head a little.

"That's right! Ibarazaki Emi! Pleased to meet you!" she responded, extending her hand. I shook it, feeling a little nervous. The constant bouncing was incredibly distracting.

I blushed a little, realizing how I must look. "I hope you don't mind. I was just kind of wandering around… and I happened to notice you…" I trailed off, glancing at her legs.

She giggled, smiling a little remorsefully as she bounced. "It's okay. I don't mind, Mac."

I blinked, looking at her. She gave me a cheeky grin. "I'm very good friends with the Nurse, and I know just how to squeeze him for information." She put on a devilish grin, scaring me a little. But, then the grin turned into a genuine smile, and she giggled. "Hehe! Just kidding. He only told me your name. He's very serious about doctor-patient stuff."

Relief washed over me. There wasn't much he could have told her anyways, but all the same. It's good to know that the Nurse is professional. "Ah… heh." I managed to reply, noting how stupid I must seem.

"Are you planning on getting a pair of legs?" she asked casually, catching me off-guard.

I frowned, not fully realizing what she meant. She must have realized this too, as she suddenly began bouncing for emphasis.

"Oh, umm… I think so, yeah." I muttered, feeling a little silly for not immediately connecting the dots.

She beamed, giggling. "Awesome! If you want, I can help you through the physical therapy part. It sucks, but it's worth it in the end!" She looked absolutely thrilled with the idea, making me a little uneasy. "And after that, you can be my running partner!"

"Er, your what?" I asked bluntly, staring at her.

"My running partner!" She restated, as if that was supposed to clarify it. "It's easier to keep up a running routine if you run with a friend, you know." She said, nodding enthusiastically.

I grinned a little, tilting my head. "And what, pray tell, gives you the impression that I'm a runner?"

"Everyone's a runner!" she replied immediately, as if she'd been asked that before. "Most people just don't realize it yet!"

I chuckled, her cheerful attitude was awfully contagious. "Well, even still, my legs probably won't be ready for prosthetics for at least a couple of weeks. I won't know for sure until I go to the Nurse today." I blinked, checking my watch quickly. It was now 7:45. Class would be starting in 15 minutes.

Emi seemed to realize this too. "Oh, shoot! I still need to go see the Nurse!" she exclaimed. She looked at me apologetically. "Sorry, but I really gotta get to the Nurse. I uh… should be done by the time you get there, though…" she mumbled, almost embarrassed by the words.

I snorted, trying to make her feel better. "Yeah? Maybe I'll beat you there!" I joked, running my hands along the wheel bars.

Emi giggled, giving me that devilish grin again as she took off, her body flying towards the direction of the Nurse's building.

Smiling in Emi's direction, I pushed myself forward, working towards the Nurse's office, a little faster than usual.

It didn't take me long to reach the Nurse's office. I wheeled myself inside, not seeing Emi. She must have already gotten done. I knocked on the doorframe, my eyes sweeping the room for the Nurse.

His head poked out from around a corner, a bagel hanging halfway out of his mouth. I chuckled in spite of myself.

He smiled, standing up quickly. "Ah, Mac! Good to see you." He snatched up the clipboard from yesterday, jotting down a really quick note before turning back to me. I idly wondered what information he could have possibly acquired in the 10 seconds I'd been here.

Automatically, I unwrapped my legs, allowing the Nurse to inspect them. He hummed to himself, looking them over. "So, Emi tells me that she caught you out on the track this morning."

I guess she wasn't joking about how close they were. I smiled sheepishly. "Haha, yeah. I don't know how I ended up out there… I just kind of wandered."

"Oh, no. That's excellent!" The nurse said, smiling. "It's a good atmosphere to be around if you want to be inspired through your physical therapy. Emi seemed like she'd be very interested in helping you through it."

I smiled, laughing a little. "Yeah… though I'm not sure why. We don't know each other at all."

The Nurse smiled sorrowfully, catching my eye. "I think you know why. She empathizes with you, which is rarer than you think, even in a school like this."

Frowning, I contemplated his words. It was true, in a way. I hadn't been here long, but I hadn't seen another kid in a wheelchair yet. There were plenty of missing limbs, but most people had at least one leg.

"I suppose…" I mumbled, glancing out a window. "You two seem close." I remarked casually, checking my watch again. Five minutes to go.

The nurse chuckled, standing up. He re-wrapped my legs in fresh bandages, despite how new my current ones were. "Yeah. Emi and I go way back." He said, though he wouldn't elaborate any farther.

"Alright. Well, your infection is nearly healed, surprisingly. Your body is fighting it well." He remarked, making some notes on his clipboard. "Your legs should be fully healed in about a week, and then we can start the physical therapy. Does that sound okay?" he asked, glancing down at me.

I nodded, somewhat excited. I'd considered my life over the second I lost my legs. It was inspiring to see a person like Emi; someone who didn't let something like that slow them down at all.

The nurse checked his watch, his eyebrows raising. "Oh, man. You need to go, kiddo. You've got about three minutes to get to class." He said, ushering me out of his office. I didn't know how I felt about him calling me 'kiddo', despite the fact that he was at most, ten years older than me.

Rolling my eyes, I wheeled myself down the hallway, exiting the building. The grounds had filled up with kids quickly, all filing towards the main building. I tried to keep the same pace as everyone else, my arms straining as I ignored the stares. My suspicions on the rarity of wheelchair students seemed to be confirmed. Or maybe it was just because they didn't recognize me. I couldn't know for sure.

Then, I heard a voice that sent shivers down my spine. "Wahahaha! We meet again, Mac!"

I turned shakily, getting forcefully pushed forward as none other than Misha took hold of the back of my wheelchair, pushing me up the ramp at a frightening speed. I groaned, trying to turn and smack at her hands, which only seemed to encourage her.

"Come on, knock it off." I grumbled, looking away. My cheeks were bright red, as we were attracting stares from all over. We finally arrived at the door and I jerked my chair forward, finally escaping Misha's grasp. Wheeling myself inside, I spun around, shooting her a sour look.

She giggled, her energy bouncing off the walls again as she smiled widely. Beside her, Shizune was staring smugly. I wonder if it'd been her idea, after all. Shizune signed something to Misha, who promptly translated. "Just doing our Student Council duty, Mac! We're obligated to help any and all students in need!"

I have a feeling that the last bit of that couldn't be farther from the truth, but I just rolled my eyes.

An idea snuck into my mind, and I couldn't help grin to myself. "Wow!" I exclaimed, pointing behind Misha. "That is the craziest thing I've ever seen!"

"Huh?" As predicted, Misha turned on her heel, her eyes bright and inquisitive; definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed.

Chuckling at my own trick, I wheeled away, using the distraction time to make my escape. Suddenly, I jerked to a halt, my body lurching forward as my chair caught on something. "Wha…" I grunted, turning around.

Shizune stood there, holding one of the handles in her hand. She had an amused smile on her face, like a parent listening to a child tell an obvious fib. Yeah, those handles really had to go. A quick snap later, and Misha's attention was back on me. Now it was her turn to scowl.

"Hey! That was mean, Mac!" she snapped, though the anger didn't seem genuine.

"Yeah, well. I really ought to get to class…" I mumbled, slightly embarrassed, but more eager to just get to class.

Misha brushed off my comment in one go, grabbing the handles on my chair again as she started rolling me towards my class. I huffed, crossing my arms, but not bothering to argue against it. This just served as more motivation for me to complete my physical therapy quicker.

It didn't take long for us to arrive in front of 3-1. Enki was already waiting out front, smiling at me, and throwing a questioning glance to Misha and Shizune. "Ms. Mikado, why do I have the feeling that you've been tormenting my student again?"

Misha giggled, flashing him a heart-warming smile. "I wasn't! I was just… helping him." She finished, beaming. Shizune had a satisfied smirk on her face.

Enki rolled his eyes, shooing the two away as he turned to me. "Would you like to introduce yourself? I get the feeling that you're not particularly thrilled about having attention brought to you, but we have to address it formally, or else everyone will be distracted by you all class." He stated, looking apologetic.

I shrugged, sighing. "Sure, I guess… I can't say that I wrote a speech for this or anything." I joked, smiling.

He chuckled, opening the door for me. "That's fine. Nobody'd pay attention if you had."

I wheeled myself in, taking a breath as I glanced over the class. I noticed right off the bat that the class had a large amount of students who were missing limbs. Was that done on purpose? It seemed… strange, that they would group kids based on their disabilities. I shrugged it off quickly. Maybe it helps them cope.

Towards the front of the class I immediately spotted Emi, and the red-haired girl that I got directions from sitting next to her. The former looked absolutely thrilled to see me, while the latter looked like she was high.

Enki cleared his throat, drawing the class's attention. "As some of you may know, we have a new student joining us from today onwards." He stepped aside, gesturing towards me. A bead of sweat dripped down my neck. The piercing stares drilling into me. I noticed, however, that most of the stares were at my face, not my legs. I suddenly felt grateful to be in a class where my disability was shared by many.

"Er… my name is Mac O'Leary." I started, quickly getting flustered. "I'm a transfer student from America. It's good to meet you." I spat out quickly. I desperately hoped that it wasn't common to explain the… circumstances behind a student's condition.

I got a few muted claps, suggesting that my fears were unsubstantiated. Enki gave an awkward clap, before patting my shoulder, ushering me to pick a seat.

I laughed internally, watching as Emi bounced in her seat, not-so-subtly gesturing to the seat next to her. Thankfully, the seat was on the edge of the class, allowing me to set my chair aside. I rolled my eyes, smiling a little as I pushed myself over, parking my chair next to the desk. I awkwardly lifted myself out of the chair, almost tumbling face-first into the desk. Luckily, I caught myself, lowering myself into my desk, sighing.

Emi shot me a smile. She looked like she'd been prepared to catch me if I'd fallen. It was a heartwarming gesture, though it still made me feel embarrassed at my physical ineptitude.

Enki immediately started his lecture. He also made it perfectly clear that since this was senior English, all discussions and papers would be in English, exclusively. I smirked. This class was going to be a breeze.

It was harder than I'd anticipated, but purely because the workload was a bit heavier than I'd first thought. The first week of school and we were already working up to several lengthy essays. Not particularly a difficult task for me, merely time consuming. But, the class passed quickly enough. Poor Emi was nearly ripping her hair out by the end of it. It would appear that English was not her strong suit.

"Urrragh!" she exclaimed as we escaped the class, the lunch bell having just rung. I shot her a glance, grinning.

"_Awww. Is Emi having some trouble with English?" _I taunted, my English catching her off-guard a bit.

Her jaw hung a bit loose, and she playfully scowled, punching me in the shoulder. "You jerk! You never said you were good at English!"

I chuckled, raising my eyebrow a bit. "Honestly? An American named Mac O'Leary transfers here and you didn't think he'd know English?"

The teasing causes her to stick her tongue out, mock-glaring at me. A thought crossed her mind, and her smile falters, being replaced by a frown.

I blinked, her sudden change of attitude surprising me. "Uh, sorry… did I say something wrong?"

She snaps out of her train of thought, smiling a little. "Oh, no. I just realized that you wouldn't be able to join Rin and I for lunch." She taps her chin, sighing. "We always eat on the roof, and there's no wheelchair access…"

A pang of guilt hits me, despite the fact that this is obviously not my fault. "Ah… well, that's okay." I said quickly, laughing. "I actually already have a place that I kind of like to eat."

Emi's face brightened considerably, but she still looked a little put-out. "Are you sure? I can probably convince Rin to come down, or I could just have lunch with you…" she trailed off, sighing.

I shook my head, grinning. "No, no. I'm sure, honestly." I give her a reassuring smile. "I actually kind of made a promise to show up there at lunch, anyways." That wasn't true, of course, but Emi seemed to feel guilty about leaving me.

She smiled, giggling as she nodded, accepting what I said. "Okaaaay, then. I'll see you later, okay?"

I nodded back, watching as she turned around, bolting towards the cafeteria.

Now I had a choice. I was strangely not feeling very hungry, particularly since I hadn't had any breakfast. Glancing down at my stomach, I actually felt a little concerned. Maybe I should bring it up with the nurse tomorrow.

I sighed, brushing away the thought. I suppose it didn't really matter to me. Just one more thing that could be wrong with me. I glanced down the hall, smiling as I remembered the room from yesterday. I was oddly eager to get back there. I pushed forward, heading towards the second floor once more.

The room was once again cracked open a little. The door inched open again, causing me to flinch from the loud noise the hinges made. I would need to convince the school to invest in a can of WD-40.

A soft, girlish gasp echoed from inside the room, drawing my attention. Lilly was once again present, her long, blonde hair catching the sunlight as it had the day before. She turned towards my direction, smiling.

The gasp didn't come from her, though. My eyes shifted across the table, spotting the girl sitting across from Lilly. She had long, straight purple hair that cascaded down her shoulders, her extended bangs covering the right side of her face. Despite her bangs, I could still see patches of exposed skin… and the burns that covered it.

No amount of self-discipline could have stopped my eyes from widening just a fraction of an inch, much to my chagrin.

She shyly turned away from me, her dark purple eyes narrowing as she detected my stare. My heart dropped into my stomach as I watched the reaction, a whirlpool of guilt building inside of me, ready to consume me entirely.

"… hello?" Lilly asked timidly, the lack of a response from me eliciting her question. "Who is it, Hanako?"

The girl, who I suppose was Hanako, hid her face, turned away from me completely. I felt so ashamed that I barely managed to mumble out a greeting.

"H-hi, Lilly…" I barely whispered, though she had no problem picking it up. She also seemed to have picked up the shuffling from across from her.

"Ah…" she said, turning to Hanako. "Hanako, this is the boy I was talking about last night. Mac." Her attempt to alleviate the tension and guilt was admirable, but unfortunately in vain. Hanako made no move to acknowledge what Lilly had said.

"I uh, I can leave if…" I trailed off, trying not to make the situation worse.

Lilly smiled, shaking her head. "No, there's no need. Really." I wondered if Hanako was known for bouts of shyness like this, or if I was just a special case. I sighed, rolling myself into the room farther. I took a seat next to Lilly, trying to make everything less awkward.

Hanako peeked out at me from under her bangs, a hurt look on her face. Not wanting to seem rude, I met her gaze for a moment, before closing my eyes, letting out a tense sigh. Lilly, unfortunately, was oblivious to the entire thing.

Over the past 36 hours, I'd had several uncomfortable and highly-awkward moments, but this one had to have taken the cake by far.

Lilly, being the kind and magnanimous soul she is, broke the silence. "So, how has your stay at Yamaku been thus far, Mac?" she said, smiling lightly.

"It's been alright. I have homeroom English, which was lucky, everything considered." I mumbled, staring at the desk. "Although I do have a rather strange Hallmate… Kenji something-or-other."

Lilly giggled louder than usual, covering her mouth again. "Ah, yes. I know Kenji. I do believe he was spending a good deal of class this morning muttering to himself about how he'd recruited a new member in the war against tyranny." She replied, smiling at the thought.

I chuckled, stretching a little. "Well, at least I'm getting along with him, at any rate. He seems a little…" I didn't finish, not wanting to seem indelicate.

"He spends a good deal of time muttering to himself when he thinks nobody else can hear him. After all of the things I've heard him say, you don't need to feel like justifying yourself to me." Lilly stated, surprising me with the boldness of her statement.

I smiled, laughing a little as I glanced sideways at Hanako. She'd turned back towards the table, looking more or less calm as she watched Lilly, a small smile on her lips. The smile vanished instantly as she caught my eyes watching her, causing me to smile in return. She must be incredibly shy. I felt kind of bad for making her feel so uncomfortable.

Hanako's gaze shifted, her brow furrowing a little as her features turned unpleasant. "Oh no…" she muttered softly, clearly displeased with something.

"What is it?" Lilly asked delicately, looking concerned.

"I…" Hanako began, before looking at me, biting her lip. She took in a deep breath, steeling herself before continuing. "I f-forgot that I h-have to head to my d-dorm early today… I n-need to get started on the essay that's due on Monday…" she muttered, her disposition suddenly very dark.

"Oh…" Lilly said, frowning. I was clearly missing something here.

"And you don't think you'll have time tomorrow?" Lilly asked, tilting her head. Hanako grumbled a little, sighing dejectedly as she shook her head, muttering a soft 'no.'

"I'm s-still so behind in S-science… I have to get my b-back work done as w-well…" she mumbled, her chin lying on the table.

Lilly perked up, gasping lightly as she turned to me, smiling. "Mac, could I ask you a favor?"

"You can ask, sure." I joked, earning me a giggle in return.

The blonde girl took a breath. "Well, normally Hanako and I go shopping together, and we're both running rather low on groceries… but she can't go."

I stared blankly at her, understanding the implied favor, but not why it was… oh. She couldn't read the labels on the groceries. God, I'm such a jackass.

"Oh, of course I'll go." I smiled, before glancing down. "That is, if it's wheelchair accessible."

Lilly's lips turned upwards, the smile a little sadder than I'd been aiming for, though. "It most certainly is."

My stomach chose that moment to growl, loudly.

I glanced down, laughing nervously. "Well, I guess I need food as well, actually." I was somewhat relieved that my diet was only slightly delayed.

Lilly looked a little put-off. "Didn't you grab lunch?" she asked, frowning at me.

"Well… I wasn't feeling particularly hungry when class ended, so I just sort of… came here." I said, grinning sheepishly.

Lilly sighed, shaking her head a little as she stood up. "Well, I wouldn't want to starve you any longer than necessary. Shall we be off?"

Hanako seemed mildly disappointed that Lilly was leaving already, but didn't bring it up. The dark-haired girl simply gathered her things and stood up, hugging her books to her chest.

"A-already?" I asked, catching Hanako's disappointed look. "I certainly wouldn't mind staying here a little longer."

Hanako caught my eye, a small smile playing across her lips as she realized my intentions. She shook her head silently, before bidding Lilly a quiet goodbye, and escaping out into the hall.

Lilly returned the farewell, turning back to me. "Come now. Even if you're not in my class, I refuse to allow a student of Yamaku go hungry. No matter how chivalrously he attempts to hide it." She said, very obviously hinting that she saw straight through my little ruse.

I rolled my eyes, a smile on my lips as I pushed my chair out just a little from the desk, being careful not to roll onto Lilly's feet. "It just seemed like she didn't really want you to leave just yet…" I trailed off, wheeling myself out of the room.

She smiled at my words, sighing. "Hanako is a big girl. She can very well voice her displeasure at something as well as you or I." she stated, perhaps a little too sternly. "Though the thought is very sweet; I'll spend some time with her tonight to make up for it."

I grinned, sighing wistfully as I glanced out the window. Lilly and Hanako were obviously very close. It made me happy to see them together. They complemented each other so well. I pushed myself into the hallway, the tapping of Lilly's cane being the only indication of her presence behind me.

"Is the store very far?" I asked as we left the front gate of the school. It was a Saturday, so classes only went until lunch.

"Not far at all." She replied, smiling. "We go down the hill into town, walk about fifty meters, and then make a left and a right. It's quite easy to find."

I looked at her blankly, raising an eyebrow. Now that's fairly impressive.

The slope of the hill caught me by surprise, causing me to wince as the wheel bar started grinding against my palms, the friction quickly heating my skin. "Ow, ow, ow." I muttered to myself, trying to keep myself from free-rolling down the hill.

Lilly looked over at me. "What's wrong?" she asked lightly.

"Heh, it's nothing. Just not used to uh, taking this steep of a slope." I muttered, wincing again.

She gasped, as if she'd forgotten that I was in a wheelchair, quickly placing her hands on the push handles on the back of my chair. I moved to stop her, but she cut me off.

"Don't. I'm not going to have you lose all the skin on your palms because you're stubborn." She teased, smiling gently.

I caved, sighing in defeat. Something about that smile just melted away my obstinacy.

Lilly was content to merely hold back my wheelchair as I guided us down the hill, avoiding potholes and staying on the shoulder of the road. She hummed lightly to herself, stopping only when I would mention an obstacle that we were approaching.

We arrived in town quickly enough, and I was mildly disappointed as she let go of the back of my chair in favor of her cane. Soon, by Lilly's directions, we were in front of the store. Her instruction led us to within three inches of the front door.

"You have quite the impressive memory." I commented lightly, wheeling myself into the store. She smiled in reply, giggling as she placed a hand on my shoulder, putting her cane away. I flinched a little at the physical contact, but relaxed. The reflex earned me a curious expression, but she didn't press the issue.

Lilly handed me a hand-written list, probably Hanako's doing. It didn't take long for us to gather everything on the list, including the items that I decided I needed. I hadn't really put much thought into it, so I just grabbed some instant food, calling it good. Hopefully the Nurse doesn't ask about my diet.

By the time we left the store, the sun was still quite high in the sky, beaming down at us. My stomach growled again, reminding me that we still had a long ride up the hill before I was allowed food. Lilly seemed to read my mind.

"Let's not go back yet." She stated simply, smiling. "We can have a meal in town."

I smirked. "But didn't you just eat?"

Her lips turned up a little in a smile. "Fine. You will have a meal, and I will have tea."

The statement was final, and the look I was getting from her suggested that pain would be rewarded for questioning it. This new, playful side of Lilly was interesting. I would definitely work harder to get her to show it more often.

"Yes ma'am." I replied, grinning to myself. "Ladies first!"

She giggled, continuing down the street we were on. I quickly followed, pushing my chair forward.

We came quickly to a small little café a little farther into town. As I got closer, I noticed the name. "The Shanghai?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lilly nodded, walking forward. "It's a local hotspot for Yamaku students who come into town."

Judging by the name, I expected it to be a little less modern than the rest of the city. And I was right. The inside had a very deliberate feudal look about it, though there wasn't anything over the top like floormats.

I was surprised at how empty it was. We were quite literally the only customers, despite how close to lunch we still were.

"A-ah! Welcome to the Shanghai! W-what will you be ordering?" came a voice from behind a counter off to our right. Glancing over, I saw a young red-headed woman behind the counter. She seemed to be tripping over herself trying to get menus for us. She looked vaguely familiar, though I couldn't place it.

"Hello, Yuuko. I'll have a cup of tea, please. The usual." Lilly said politely. The name clicked my memory.

"You're the librarian." I stated matter of factly, blinking in recognition. I'd seen her a couple of times as I'd passed the library.

Yuuko nodded, smiling shyly. "Y-yes. This is my second job. If I didn't have two, I wouldn't be able to pay for food, and then I'd slowly starve to death…"

The sudden depressing tone in her voice made me flinch, but she recovered rapidly. "Ah! But I didn't get your order! And I haven't seated you! Ohhh, I hope they don't fire me…" she whined, ushering us over to a table.

Lilly smiled, lightly touching Yuuko's hand. "It's quite alright, Yuuko. It's highly unlikely that they'll fire you for chatting with us when we're the only people in here."

Yuuko seemed relieved, her cheerful nature coming back. "I suppose…" she trailed off, before snapping back to reality. "What will you be having…" her jaw slackened, and her eyes went wide. "Oh my god! I don't know your name! What kind of librarian am I!?"

If I'd been drinking anything, I would have spit it out from the obnoxious chuckle that crept past my lips. This only seemed to make Yuuko more anxious.

"I-it's fine, Yuuko." I said, still laughing a little. "I've never been to the library, so I wouldn't expect you to know my name. And I'll have…" I peeked at the menu quickly, ordering the first thing I saw. "A small slice of chocolate cake and a cup of coffee, if you wouldn't mind."

Yuuko nodded, frantically dashing to the kitchen to prepare our food.

Lilly giggled at me from across the table. "You'll have to forgive Yuuko. She's sweet… she just gets a little stressed every now and again."

The sound of a plate breaking in the back of the store, followed shortly by a low-pitched wail reinforced her statement.

"Yeah, I hadn't noticed." I said, peering back into the kitchen. I hoped she hadn't hurt herself.

Yuuko came dashing out from the kitchen, balancing our orders precariously. I raised an eyebrow as she carefully set down our food, before scrambling back into the kitchen, muttering something about a dustpan.

"So, you're a coffee drinker, hmm?" Lilly asked, taking a small sip of her tea.

I smirked, mimicking the action with my coffee. "You could say that. I might have a little bit of a caffeine addiction." I said, smiling. My stomach growled again, making me painfully aware of the chocolate cake.

"Have you ever tried tea?" Lilly responded, clearly disapproving of my 'little' addiction.

I smiled, chuckling. "I don't think you can live in Japan for as long as I have without trying tea." I retorted, stealing another look at the cake.

Glancing between the cake and Lilly, I mentally weighed my odds of being able to scarf this down without her hearing it. My stomach growled again, forcing me to throw caution to the wind. I basically swallowed the slice, coughing a little as it went down. I sighed contently, now that my hunger had been temporarily sated.

Lilly, unfortunately, seemed to know exactly what happened. "You should really try chewing your food." She said teasingly, a knowing smile dancing across her lips.

I pouted a little, sticking my tongue out. It occurred to me shortly afterwards that the motion was pointless. "Nothing ever gets past you, does it?" I asked, smiling playfully.

The tactlessness in my words was painfully apparent before I'd even finished saying them. Luckily, Lilly didn't seem to take offense, merely smiling coyly in my direction.

The conversation died after that. We stayed in the Shanghai for a while longer, enjoying the afternoon sun that had begun to filter through the windows. The sun would likely be setting within a couple of hours.

"I suppose we should probably be getting back." Lilly said, standing up. "Hanako is going to start getting anxious soon."

I gave a mumble of agreement, managing to lever myself into my chair, giving the contraption an annoyed glare. "I'm going to be really happy when I can get out of this metal trap." I mumbled to myself.

In the presence of anyone else, the statement would have gone unheard. Lilly, however, picked up every word. She looked curious, biting her lip, but she decided not to press the issue. I gave a mental sigh of relief.

We left shortly after that. We split the bill 50/50, as Lilly wouldn't allow me to pay for the entire meal. I was internally grateful, being somewhat low on cash.

The walk back up to the school was as uneventful as the walk down. My arms strained against gravity as I managed to push myself up the hill, inch by inch. Try as I might, I couldn't fully keep in the grunts of exertion. Lilly was silent on the way up, and though she chose not to help me, I suspect it was so I could retain some amount of dignity, rather than because she was annoyed with me.

It was very hard to read Lilly. With a normal person, I could always watch their eyes to tell what they were thinking about. The movements of their eyes were almost always a dead giveaway. Lilly, however, had her eyes closed more often than open. It was exceedingly frustrating, as I knew something was on her mind.

We got back to the school just as the sky was beginning to take on a slightly orange hue, signifying the approaching sunset. Neither of us said a word as we strolled through the gates. We got to the path that separated the boys' and girls' dormitories.

"Thank you for accompanying me into town, Mac." Lilly finally said, breaking the silence between us. She was definitely still thinking on something, but had put it to the back of her mind.

"Not at all. Thank you for putting up with me." I replied, turning towards the dorms. Lilly smiled, but didn't give a reply.

I began wheeling towards the boys' dorms, when I heard Lilly's voice behind me speak up.

"… Mac?" she asked gently, causing me to stop.

I turned around, smiling. "What's up?" I responded, glancing at her. She seemed to fidget a little, whatever she'd been thinking about was at the front of her mind again.

"Do you… want to talk about it?" She asked timidly. She was referring to my accident.

There was a brief silence between us before I turned around. "No. Not right now." I replied, glancing back at her.

She sighed, nodding as she turned away.

"But, thank you." I added on at the end. She paused briefly, but continued walking.

And so ended our trip together. I slowly pushed myself back to my room, my energy leaving me quickly. My arms ached and throbbed from all of the pushing they'd done all day. I barely managed to change my bandages for the night and pop two of my antibiotics before landing on my bed, suddenly drained of energy.

I was asleep almost immediately.

* * *

**Well, guys. That was day two of our little story.**

**How's everyone liking it so far? I don't plan on doing a day-by-day account like this for very long, but it's necessary while I build the character relationships. I've also decided that we're going to skip Sunday, and jump straight into Monday. The day that Hisao arrives at Yamaku.**

**As always, read and review. Until next time.**


	4. Chapter 3: Arrival

**Chapter 3: Arrival**

**Here's chapter three, folks. I'll probably have a new chapter out at least once a week, provided that my free time and motivation for writing hold out.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Thinking back on the events of Saturday, Sunday turned out to be a pretty slow day.

Overall, the only things of particular importance that I managed to get myself to do was go to the track, where I hung out with Emi for about an hour, checked in with the Nurse to review my legs, and then finally fixed my dieting schedule.

I yawned, sitting up in bed as I glanced at my clock. It was seven in the morning now. Closer to where I wanted to be waking up, though I didn't know if I'd have time to stop by the track this morning.

As it turns out, I would not have time to visit the track. By the time I got done bathing and rewrapping my legs, it was almost 7:30. And while Emi's presence was always uplifting, my stomach didn't forgive me for skipping breakfast the other day.

I decided to stop by the Nurse prior to getting breakfast. He seemed as jovial as ever, checking up on my legs, always taking notes. He reminded me to continue taking my meds, but seemed altogether pleased. If my body kept healing at this rate, we could probably begin physical therapy before the weekend, he said; an exciting proposal.

Smiling to myself, I made my way to the room I'd been spending so many of my lunches in recently. Lilly called it the tea room. Breakfast on my lap, I wheeled myself inside, noting that for once, it was empty.I frowned a little, but didn't think anything of it. I suppose she can't use ALL of her free time in here.

I blinked as I spotted something on the table, taped down. It was a piece of paper with my name on it.

As I unfolded it, setting my breakfast aside, I immediately recognized Hanako's handwriting.

_Mac,_

_Lilly wanted me to tell you that she would not be able to make it to lunch today, as she has class representative duties. Since we don't have class together, and I'm going to be in the library for lunch, I came in here before classes started to drop this off._

_Regards, _

_Hanako._

The note was short and concise. Hanako definitely wasn't one to mince words, though it didn't appear that she held any resentment from Saturday. That alone gave me a great deal of relief.

The knowledge of Lilly's upcoming absence from lunch was mildly upsetting, but I shook it off. I told myself when I was in the hospital that I wasn't going to depend on people. This was no exception… I guess.

I sighed, quickly finishing the remainder of my breakfast. I pocketed the note and wheeled myself off to class.

The class was strangely abuzz this morning. Whispers flew back and forth across the classroom. I didn't catch what anyone was saying, as I was too busy trying to get our assignment done for the day, but I briefly caught Emi talking to the red-headed girl next to her, whom she had introduced as Rin, saying something about a new student.

At a school like this, new students tended to be rather rare. Getting two within the same week was quite interesting, apparently.

I smiled to myself a little, somewhat glad that the spotlight had finally drifted elsewhere.

The morning classes drifted by quickly enough. Though as the day progressed, the rumors regarding the new student became more and more outrageous. I blankly stared at a girl who was fantasizing about him being the world's strongest one-armed cripple. I shook my head, chuckling a little. How anyone even knew we were getting a new student was beyond me. I hadn't heard a thing prior to class.

The lunch bell sounded sharply through the school, prompting me to smile as I heaved myself into my chair. I noted that it was getting a bit easier now. My arms weren't quite the flabby noodles they were when I got slapped in this thing to begin with. Pushing myself around all day was certainly one way to build muscle mass.

Emi smiled, stretching a bit, and for the first time I realized that she was wearing her running legs, instead of her usual class legs.

"Fancying a jog?" I asked her, smiling.

She grinned, bouncing a bit. "Nah. I just didn't have time to change back to my normal legs today. I kind of like using these, anyways." She hopped up and down for emphasis.

"Don't the teachers usually get on your case about wearing them because you always end up running in the hallways?" I asked teasingly. I got a cheeky smile in return.

Emi giggled, stretching a bit more, looking like she was prepared to run. "Pfft. The teachers don't understand!" Without further ado, she dashed off down the hallway, nimbly weaving through students. I watched in mild amusement as she rounded a corner, a loud thump and a few groans following her disappearance; looks like she crashed into someone again.

I chuckled, and began wheeling myself to the cafeteria, my blood chilling a little as I heard Misha's voice echo down the hallway. "Ms. Ibarazaki! How many times have you been told not to run i-…" her voice got drowned out in the noise of the hallway as I got farther away, allowing me to let out a sigh of relief.

Grabbing my lunch, I quickly retraced my metaphorical steps down the hallway, looking around cautiously for Misha or Shizune. I spotted the bobbing ball of pink exuberance quickly, followed quickly by her scheming companion. Ducking low, I managed to pass by them unseen, though it looked like they were distracted by someone else, for once.

My trip back to the tea room, and the first half of my lunch was rather uneventful. I took Lilly's usual seat by the window, sighing as the afternoon sun washed over me, warming me up. I could understand why she enjoyed this spot. My eyes caught a glimmer of movement up on the roof of our building, where the building angled off towards the main gate.

I saw Emi up on the roof. She was bouncing around ecstatically, though the reason why wasn't overly-apparent. I didn't see Rin, though there was quite a bit of roof that I couldn't quite see. Arching my neck, I looked out the window further, leaning more out of my chair.

I did not notice the door opening more behind me until the distinct sound of those hinges reached my ears.

"Gah!" I exclaimed, taken by surprise as I spun around, looking at the person in the doorway. My sense of balance, however, did not agree with the movement, and I ended up falling forward, my forehead slamming into the table, my arms barely keeping myself from completely falling out of my chair.

I stayed like this for a second, my head throbbing in what was sure to be an upcoming migraine as I attempted to steady myself, slowly pushing myself back up into my chair, wincing.

"You okay?" asked an incredulous voice. I turned towards the door, almost scowling at the young man standing in the doorway.

"Peachy." I replied, rubbing my forehead. Taking another glance at the guy in the doorway, I took in his various features. From his messy brown hair, and his dark eyes down, studying his uniform. It looked to be in mint condition. I realized I'd never seen him before.

"You're the new kid." I said bluntly, staring at him.

He nodded, frowning a little. I noticed how he carefully avoided looking anywhere lower than my chest. That made me more uncomfortable than if he'd just stare at my legs. "Hisao Nakai." He said simply. He seemed nervous.

"You can come in if you want." I offered, gesturing at a chair. "I was just finishing up lunch." I replied, looking back to my cold mush. "I'm Mac O'Leary."

"Ah, it's okay. I was actually just looking for the library." Hisao said, rubbing his neck a little.

I jerked my thumb back in the direction that he came from. "You missed it. It's about halfway down the hall." I informed him, taking a bite of the school's food. I shuddered miserably. I would need to start making my own food.

Hisao nodded, turning back around as he walked back down the hall. It occurred to me as he left that I wasn't able to identify what was wrong with him. He didn't have any missing limbs, his vision seemed to be fine, and he certainly wasn't mute or deaf. No involuntary movements. Nothing.

I scratched my head, mulling it over. There were a few internal problems he could have… but I hardly had enough information to make an estimated guess. I shrugged, yawning as I stretched, rolling my shoulders.

I relaxed in the sun, closing my eyes as I sighed happily. I stayed like that for several minutes, before my ears twitched, picking up the unmistakable sound of a cane line tapping on the linoleum. I turned towards the doorway, smiling a little as I saw Lilly turn into the doorway, a troubled look on her face.

"Mac? Are you in here?" she asked tentatively.

"Yep." I replied, idly wondering if she would want her spot back.

Lilly smiled, turning towards my voice. "I see you've taken a liking to my seat."

I twitched, staring at her with a stupid expression on my face. How on earth does she always do that? "Er… well… it's warmer here." I muttered, blushing a little.

She giggled in response. "I was wondering… would you mind helping me with something? I can't seem to find Hanako, otherwise I wouldn't trouble you with it…" she trailed off. She seemed embarrassed at the very notion of asking a stranger for help.

I sat up, blinking. "No, of course not. It's no trouble at all."

She smiled a little, before slowly moving out of the classroom. I wheeled myself out, following her down the hallway.

"Can I ask what I'll be helping with?" I questioned, throwing her a stray glance. Although I had an itching suspicion of what it might be related to.

Lilly sighed, her expression suddenly turning to irritation. "Our student council President has assigned all of the Class Reps with certain tasks to allow the preparations for the festival to go smoothly." She explained, leading us up to the 3rd floor.

"She decided to give me a job sorting cans of paint in the art room." Lilly stated.

I winced, thinking of Shizune. That's a bit of a low-blow. "Ah…" I muttered. I couldn't think of anything else to say.

We arrived at the art room within a couple of minutes, Lilly leading the way in. There were various colors of paints spread across the room, and while there weren't very many total, it would be quite impossible for Lilly to sort them by color.

I grinned a little, glancing at the blonde girl beside me. "You should have sorted them by shape, just to mess with Shizune."

Thankfully, Lilly was able to see the humor in the statement, letting out a soft giggle. "I think that would only coerce her to give me an even more humiliating task, unfortunately."

I did notice however that the art room was pretty jumbled in regards to desks and random obstacles on the floor. I wouldn't be able to navigate it in my wheelchair. "Err…" I said.

She seemed to already understand the problem, however. "How about you tell me which paints need to go where?" she asked politely, smiling gently.

I chuckled, sighing. "Heh. Teamwork at its finest. Sounds good."

It was a simple matter from there. Though my directions were a _little_ bit choppy, Lilly seemed to always manage to navigate through the room. Before long, we had all of the paints sorted in various parts of the room. As I looked at them, I quickly realized that this job was absolutely pointless. It would take two minutes to find the paint you're looking for, even in an unorganized system.

"I'm going to have to have a talk with Shizune." I muttered.

Lilly seemed to find my choice of words amusing, but waved my suggestion off. "No, I don't think that would be a very good idea. Do that and you'll paint a target on your back."

I frowned in annoyance at her nonchalant attitude. "But this is simply ridiculous, Lilly. That wasn't even remotely fair."

Lilly smiled gently, patting my shoulder comfortingly. "It was my fault, in the end. I egged her into an argument which led to this. I should have known not to, but I did anyways." She finished.

I sighed in frustration, glancing out the window. A thought suddenly crossed my mind. "Oh, you said that this was supposed to be in preparation for a festival, right?" I asked, tilting my head.

Lilly nodded. "That's right. The Yamaku Festival. It's… a pretty big thing around here, and naturally the classes get fairly competitive."

"What exactly do you celebrate at the Yamaku festival?" I asked.

Lilly smiled sheepishly, giggling a little. "I don't think anyone actually knows. That, or they just have the festival for the sake of having a festival."

I shrugged. I suppose that reason was as good as any. "Heh. Sounds fun."

I wasn't totally lying, though I had never really spent much time at parties or festivals before the accident. I wasn't exactly a recluse, but I wasn't all that out-going either. Lilly looked like she was going to comment, but was interrupted as the bell rang, signifying the beginning of the afternoon classes.

"Well, I guess I'll catch you later." I said, sighing.

Lilly giggled at me. "What? You're not going to walk me to my class? And here I'd perceived you as such a gentleman."

I grinned at her teasing, wheeling myself backwards out of the classroom. "Well, I suppose I have no choice then, do I? Ladies first, of course." I bowed, despite the pointlessness of the gesture.

She drifted out the door, her cane extending as it began the usual tapping against the ground. Back and forth, left and right. It was a truly comforting noise. I sighed as we came upon the congested hallways of the lower floors. This is why I hated being in a wheelchair. Navigating through crowded hallways was just asking for an accident.

I saw Lilly off to her class. She gave me a smile and a wave before entering.

"Aaah, fraternizing with the enemy, hmm!?" came an all-too-familiar voice from behind me. My wheelchair jerked forward, and I didn't even bother to act angry as the bubbly Misha pushed me forward, giggling and bouncing on her heels.

"We just passed my class." I said flatly as we zoomed through the halls, nearly hitting people at every turn. Misha giggled loudly, seeming to ignore me as she pushed me down the halls. We stopped suddenly halfway down an unfamiliar hallway.

"You're not going back to class!" Misha declared, grinning. Unsurprisingly, Shizune was with her. She had an evil gleam in her eye. Shizune signed sharply at Misha, her hands whizzing through the air, her eyes never leaving mine. "Shicchan says that since you have no problem helping out another class's representative with her tasks, that you would definitely be okay with helping the Student Council out with its work!" Misha translated.

"Are you two stalking me?" I asked, honestly concerned. I decided to not even comment on the choppy logic.

Misha didn't seem to have a readily-prepared answer to that, so she turned to Shizune. Shizune smirked, quickly signing her answer to the question.

"Not by the strictest legal definition." Misha chirped, giggling.

I sighed, glancing at them. "Guys, I really don't know if I can do this right now. I've only been in class two days. I can't be missing work all the time like this."

Shizune had a readily-prepared answer to this, of course.

"Work with us on this today, and I'll make sure that Ms. Satou is lined up with more work that requires your company." Misha translated, giggling.

I opened my mouth, but realized I had nothing to respond with. "W-well…" I bumbled, a bit conflicted. I blushed as I realized that Shizune paid way too much attention to how I spent my time. She was a bit scary. A thought crossed my mind at that moment, however.

"Ah, but see, that doesn't work." I replied, smugly. "Lilly only comes to me when she can't find Hanako."

As Misha finished translating my words, a worrying thought bloomed in my mind as Shizune's grin only got wider, her hands signing back her reply.

"I have it on good authority that Ms. Ikezawa was in her usual spot in the library for the entire lunch period today." Misha replied, the realization coming to her eyes even as she said the words.

The implied meaning of her words was obvious, and my jaw hung open a little. Shizune took my lack of a reply as a victory, marching triumphantly into the Student Council room, Misha pushing me in afterwards.

The work really wasn't all that bad. In fact, as I stared at the small pile of papers that I had to organize, I really had to wonder if they hadn't dragged me in here for some other nefarious reason. I kept thinking back on what Shizune had 'said'. Had Hanako really been in there the whole time?

I suppose I was putting an awful lot of trust in Shizune by taking her word for it. Then again, Shizune never came across as a liar. Simply a bit of a manipulator.

I'd have to find Hanako and discretely pull out the information. Would she see through it? Hanako and Lilly seemed close, but I don't know if she'd tell Lilly everything, like if I was snooping around about what she'd been doing today…

I sighed, brushing the thought away and getting back to my work, realizing I'd been spacing out the whole time. I began sorting the papers in front of me, dividing them into various categories. Some of them were financial papers like budget reports, while others were things like attendance sheets.

Misha was putting things away in a cupboard behind me, when suddenly I got an idea.

"Hey, Misha." I said quickly. "Don't turn around, and don't sign anything." I lowered my head, turning away from Shizune.

Misha blinked. "Huh? Why?"

"Because. I want to know why I'm really in here." I said, glancing at her. She had her head turned just a fraction of an inch, her hands still grabbing at supplies.

Misha giggled, looking through a bin. "We told you why, silly. To help us!"

I winced at the volume of her voice, even if I didn't need to. Shizune was still hard at work across the room, not noticing our discussion.

"Bull." I said bluntly, holding a paper for emphasis. "You don't need me for this. You or her could do this in half the time I am."

Misha giggled again, taking a peek at me. "Maybe you're just being paranoid, Mac." She said, teasingly. She moved a few more objects around in the bins, looking for something.

"I am paranoid, and for good reason." I said stubbornly. I set the paper down, a little harder than I'd intended. Shizune glanced up, her eyes narrowing as she caught sight of me.

"You're overthinking it. Don't overthink. It could ruin something nice." Misha said, uncharacteristically cryptic. And with that, she grabbed whatever she'd been searching for and closed the cupboard, skipping back on over to Shizune.

I frowned, watching as Shizune and Misha began signing, Shizune sending me glances every now and then. If I was going to make these little work sessions a habit, then I would need to learn sign language. I hated being out of the loop.

The work was finished quickly, as I suspected. Barely half an hour after I entered the room, I was done. Shizune frowned as she scanned over what I'd sorted, obviously looking for something that she could have me re-do. She put the papers down in a frustrated manner, sighing as she waved me off, signifying that I could go back to class.

I bolted out of the room. Well, as fast as a wheelchair could bolt, anyways. Shizune made me incredibly nervous. Every time I looked into her eyes I felt like I was staring directly into some kind of manipulative plot to control the school. She seemed like her heart was in the right place, at least.

I made it back to class before it got out. Thankfully I was able to collect my work from the teacher, which I would have to either do later, or before this class tomorrow. I sat down next to Emi, sighing as I massaged my arms. I hadn't moved around too much today, but they were still sore.

Emi looked a little troubled by something. Upon asking her, she just gave me her signature grin. "It's nothing." She replied. "I just had a bit of a run-in with the new guy…" she trailed off, rubbing her forehead.

I thought back to just after lunch. Emi must have crashed into him there, which is what that noise was.

"Oh, Hisao?" I asked, tilting my head. She seemed surprised that I knew his name.

"How do you know his name?" She asked, looking suspiciously at me.

I grinned. It wasn't too often that I knew something that she didn't. "We met during lunch. He was complaining about some cute girl that had run into him right before he got his lunch." I said, making an educated guess.

Emi's face turned a fiery shade of red. Turns out my guess had been spot-on after all.

I chuckled, trying not to be too disruptive as I glanced at Emi. Her face was still cherry-red, and she was glaring at me. "He. Did. Not. You. Lying. Jerk!" she said, marking each word with a slug to my already-sore arm.

"Ohhh, Emi doesn't have a crush on the new kid in town, does she?" I asked, teasing.

Emi gaped at me, before scowling, redoubling her efforts to leave me with a broken arm. Thankfully, the teacher didn't seem to be paying attention.

She finally stopped, leaving me wincing as I cradled my arm, pouting at her. She simply huffed, looking away. The anger was obviously just out of embarrassment, but I chuckled nonetheless. It was so easy to get her flustered sometimes.

The evil gleam in her eyes as she periodically looked back over at me told me that I would be paying sorely for that remark at some later date.

"Oh, that reminds me." I said, catching her attention. "The nurse said that I could probably start physical therapy before the weekend!" I said, more enthused than I'd expected to be.

Emi's emotional 180 was astounding. Scheming to ecstatic in the time it took me to finish that sentence. "That's great!" she cheered, giggling. "We'll have you running marathons in no time at all!"

I chuckled nervously, smiling. "Emi, I really am not a runner. I appreciate the thought, but I think I'll be satisfied with just walking again."

She looked a little put-out, pouting at me. "But Maaaac~. Who'll be my running partner if you won't?"

I cringed as she started pouting. She was truly a master at the puppy-eyed routine. She stuck her lip out just the right amount. I had to look away, breaking eye contact. "Er, why don't you ask Hisao?" I asked, throwing out a suggestion. Hopefully that would deflect her cuteness temporarily.

She blinked, thinking. "Hisao? Hmm…" she pondered the idea, before glancing back at me. "Do you think he'd like running?"

I shrugged, chuckling. "Beats me, but, unlike me, he at least has all of his limbs."

Emi immediately slugged me in the arm again, frowning. "That's no excuse!"

She had a pretty good point.

"Maybe it's not, but he's definitely in a better position than I am to run." I said, shrugging. "I can come out there every now and then to run and stay in shape, but I'm just not that athletic, Emi."

Emi seemed to get lost in thought again, a small smile coming to her lips.

She didn't seem to pursue the conversation any farther, seeming content to start daydreaming, staring blankly out the window. I smiled to myself, turning back to my work. Looks like I'd been right about the crush, after all.

* * *

The end of the day could not have come fast enough.

It was still way too early to head back to my dorm, though. It was a rather nice day. The sun was beaming down on us, bright and happy as I rolled out of the main building. It was starting to come to my attention that I did not nearly have enough things to occupy my day. Maybe I should consider joining a club…

I yawned, wheeling myself around the school. I'd found a nice, secluded little area towards the back gate that got a decent amount of sun. Maybe I'd go lay down for a little bit.

Sighing, I heaved myself out of my chair, lying down flat on my back in the warm grass, staring up at the sky. Closing my eyes, I lulled myself into a nice, quiet state of peacefulness.

That is, until someone's foot dug itself into my side, sharply. Yelping, I grabbed my side, cussing as I looked up at my attacker, squinting against the sun.

"Hey, man." Came the voice of none other than Kenji, who was looking at me with a curious expression. I looked around, my eyebrows raised. How he got to me without making a sound was infinitely more mysterious than why he just kicked me, but I doubted I'd get an answer on it.

Frustrated at having my quiet time disrupted, I scowled at him. "Why the hell did you just kick me?" I asked flatly.

Kenji looked taken aback, as if my response surprised him. "Woah, woah, man. I was just checking to see if you were alive."

"If I was… why the hell would I be dead?" I asked, mildly shocked.

Kenji leaned in, his breath reeking of garlic. I crinkled my nose at the smell. "The feminists, dude. They've been known to assassinate their more cunning adversaries." He whispered, his face deadly serious.

I didn't know whether to feel confused about his whole attitude, or complimented that he considers me to be cunning.

Either way, these conversations usually tended to go smoother and end quicker if I played along. "Ah, nah." I remarked, laying back down on the grass. "I've been keeping a vigilant eye out for any of their tricks."

Kenji nodded, glancing over at me. "So what's going on out here, man?"

I blinked, stammering a little. "I er…" I drew a blank, staring at the sky for a moment.

"I'm monitoring their satellites." I blurted out. It honestly was the only thing I could think of. Kenji's brow furrowed, staring in my general direction intently.

"Oh, okay." He said finally, his features relaxing. "I'm legally blind, so I suppose someone has to do it." He said, nodding as if what I'd said made any sense. I actually had forgotten that he had a vision problem. His glasses covered it well.

"Speaking of which…" he mumbled, glancing in my direction. "My sources tell me that you've been spending an awful lot of time with the blonde woman."

How the hell did everyone know about that!?

"Your sources are very nosy." I said after a bit of a pause.

"Nosy or otherwise, my sources can be trusted, man." Kenji said, sitting down next to me. "I'm only looking out for you. That blonde woman is trouble. She is the very definition of trouble." He asserted, getting a serious look in his eye. "In fact, if a dictionary company had a machine that attached the best word to describe you onto your back whenever you walked in the door, her word would be…" he took a breath, "malfeasance."

I could only stare at him as he finished his rant. "Yeah? And what makes you say that?"

He smiled, apparently glad that I was so inquisitive. "Let me tell you!" he barked, turning sharply towards the school. "You know that dictator-woman? The deaf and fat one?"

"Shizune isn't fat." I stated, raising an eyebrow.

"She's very fat. And half of her hair is pink." Kenji stated.

My face twitched into a smile, only growing wider as I realized that Kenji wasn't joking. "Dude, that's two different people." I said, chuckling a little. "The pink half is her translator."

Kenji looked startled, jumping to his feet. "What!?" he yelled, looking horrified at my statement.

"This is bad. This is really bad, man. My intel is seriously off if that's the case." He mumbled, pacing. "I might have to rethink everything I know about… everything." The first reasonable thing he's said all day.

"I need to go." He stated suddenly, looking me dead in the eye. "Just keep in mind that the blonde woman is serious trouble. She used to work with the dictator-fat-thin-pink-woman on the student council. Anyone who works with that kind of shapeshifter can be up to no good." He asserted finally, starting to walk away.

"Malfeasance!" he declared loudly as he turned the corner of the school, leaving me alone in the field.

I lay back down, staring up at the sky again. Smiling, I thought back to what Kenji said. Had Lilly really been on the student council with Shizune? I couldn't imagine it. The two didn't seem to get along very well. I wonder why? I mean, despite the obvious impossibility of communication, it didn't seem like they should have any reason to despise each other. I chuckled out loud, enjoying the warmth of the sun. Despite his idiosyncrasies, Kenji was a surprisingly reliable source of information, when he wasn't mistaking two people for one.

Maybe I ought to hang out with him more…

My eyes closed as the warmth of the sun and the soft breeze lulled me off to sleep.

* * *

_Flashing lights whizzed by me on either side. I was moving fast, really fast. Looking around, I saw street corners, civilians, cars…_

_I vaguely recognized the buildings I was passing. A library I used to visit. A small café I used to have coffee at occasionally. I couldn't quite place why they were relevant, but I recognized them._

_Suddenly, the atmosphere changed. Gone were the lights and the familiar sounds. All I could hear was the screeching sound of tires braking on asphalt. My only vision that of the red, piercing glare of brake lights against the silhouette of darkness around us. The crashing crunch of metal on metal; grinding, twisting._

_A look of terror crossed the familiar face beside me. A face I hadn't dreamed about in weeks._

_Blinding pain was all I knew, following a harsh jolt._

"JIRO!" I screamed, bolting upright, my hands immediately feeling for my legs. I panted, realizing it had just been a dream. My legs twitched, remembering the pain. I whimpered in spite of myself, biting my lip.

"M-Mac?" came a worried voice beside me. I realized that there was a hand on my shoulder, gently shaking me.

I gasped, pushing myself away from the voice. I turned, seeing the concerned face of Lilly, and the terrified-looking Hanako behind her. I looked around frantically, finding myself on the field I'd fallen asleep on. It was sunset now; the large orb of light had just begun sinking below the horizon.

"L-Lilly?" I managed to squeak out, not sure how to act.

"It's okay… it's just me." She reassured me. "Hanako found you sleeping out here and came to get me… you were having a nightmare…"

My heartbeat was still pounding against my body as I gasped, willing myself to calm down.

A brief moment passed, and I took a deep breath, collecting myself. "I-is that right?" I asked, forcing out a laugh. "Sorry about that. I fell asleep out here I guess, and I occasionally get nightmares." I said nonchalantly. I pulled myself over to my chair clumsily. Forcing myself up, I grunted as I heaved myself into my seat, my heart still pounding.

Lilly looked torn; her need to comfort someone in pain clearly in conflict with her respect of personal space.

"It's fine. Really." I said, again. The terror was gone from my voice, now. I'm sure it sounded more believable than before.

"Stop." She ordered, a stern look on her face. She walked towards me, feeling for my wheelchair. She gently kneeled down beside it, putting a hand on my arm. "How long has it been?" she asked, looking me in the eyes.

"A month." I replied casually, looking away.

Lilly sighed, squeezing my arm. "And have you talked to anyone about it?"

I rolled my eyes. "Lilly, there's no need for this. It was just a nightmare. It happens to everyone." I assured her. "Besides, I've been fine all this time."

Lilly narrowed her eyes, looking right at me. "Emotional trauma is not a shallow matter, Mac." She hissed, her voice barely above a whisper. I had to strain to hear her. My eyes widened. I'd never seen her get this upset over anything.

My eyes flicked to Hanako, who still looked pretty shaken up. Guilt rose up in my chest.

"This is different." I whispered back, as quietly as I could manage.

Lilly sighed, her aggressive demeanor vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. "Very well." She whispered, staring at me. "You can either talk to me about it, or I can convince the teachers to assign you a therapist. Your choice."

I stared at her, flabbergasted that she would blackmail me like this. "W-what?" I demanded. "Lilly… that's not…" I stuttered, feeling somewhat betrayed.

She squeezed my arm again, comfortingly. "You need to talk to someone about it. Bottling it up isn't healthy, and neither is trying to ignore it. It could lead to some serious repercussions later." She replied, her tone soft, soothing.

I sighed, not seeing a way out of this. "Can I at least choose when? I don't… think I'm quite ready for that, yet."

Her features softened considerably. "Of course. So long as you promise to do it."

"After the festival." I said, my tone implying that it wasn't up for debate. If I had to darken someone's afternoon, it was at least going to be after they've had their fun. Not before.

She frowned, obviously hoping that it would be sooner. "Very well." She said simply, standing up. She wanted to say more, but she bit her lip, holding it back.

"I should get to my dorm." I said, sighing. "I want to go back to sleep."

Lilly nodded, turning back to Hanako. She put her arm around her shoulders, comforting her as she whispered something to her. They turned around, walking towards the girls' dormitories. Hanako gave me one last look as they rounded the corner. Was it… sympathy? No… it was something more. Empathy. It was the same look that Emi gave me whenever she saw me; the look of understanding.

I sighed wistfully, still a little shaken from the nightmare. I hadn't had one of those in weeks. I thought I'd gotten through that by now.

The trip back to the dorms was uneventful. As I wheeled myself up to my hall, I heard the vague sound of an argument echoing down.

"…ome on, man! We're bothers in arms! Why can't you spot me a few thousand yen?" came the unmistakable sound of Kenji's voice. As I rounded the corner, I saw him arguing with none other than Hisao, who had a look of vast confusion on his face.

I raised an eyebrow. Did Hisao get dumped on our floor as well? Interesting. If nothing else, he's someone else for Kenji to pester.

"I can spot you some, but I'm choosing not to." Hisao replied, raising an eyebrow. "I already gave you money this morning, remember? You still haven't paid me back for that."

Kenji scoffed, looking offended. "You're not one of those tight-asses that remembers every single cent that someone's asked of them, are you? I mean, that was practically yesterday already." He demanded.

"Yo Hisao, Kenji." I said, announcing my presence. Wheeling myself down the hall, they both turned to me. Hisao's was a look of surprise, while Kenji's was one of disbelief.

"Dude! You're alive!" he exclaimed ecstatically. I thought we'd been over this already.

"Woohoo. It's a miracle." I said boredly, coming up to them. "Now, I don't want to be up all night hearing you argue so…" I dug out my wallet, handing Kenji two thousand yen. "I expect that to be repaid by the end of the week." I said sternly, to which Kenji nodded enthusiastically.

Kenji, no longer requiring our services, quickly retreated back to his lair, slamming his door behind him.

"So, what did I just invest two-thousand yen into?" I asked, glancing at Hisao.

Hisao raised an eyebrow, glancing at me. "Satellite-tracking software, evidently."

Oh for the love of… "Wonderful. There goes money that I'll never see again." I stated in an unamused manner, wheeling myself towards my room. "Well, good night." I finished, slipping into my room. Normally I'd have stuck around to chat, but I didn't really have it in me tonight. I just wanted to lie down and sleep.

I closed my door sharply, no doubt earning myself a confused look from Hisao. I managed to replace my bandages and choke down my pills for the night before passing out again, the day's events weighing on me.

* * *

**Alrighty then. That is chapter three, guys. How're you liking it so far?**

**I am still not sure how I plan on handling large amount of time, since I'm still not sure how long I want this story to be. What I'll probably do for now is a week-by-week rundown at the beginning of each chapter, while the chapter itself describes a significant day within that week. I want to have details to build the relationships upon, but at the same time, I need to have the relationships progress linearly upon a timeline. I can't have two people going from acquaintances to soulmates in a week. It just wouldn't make sense.**

**If you have any tips or suggestions, they would be very much appreciated. As always, review away!**

**Until next time.**


	5. Chapter 4: New Beginnings

**Chapter 4: New Beginnings**

**Well, here we are again. Another chapter for all of you adoring fans to read. I'd like to make a quick appreciative statement to Rick Crash Tracy, who has been reviewing faithfully.  
I appreciate your input, dude. As for the rest of you, it would be nice to see some more reviews every now and then. There's no point to writing if I don't know that someone enjoys it. Even if you were to tell me that you don't like it, and follow it up with why, that would be better than nothing at all.**

**On a secondary note, I'd like to say that since Katawa Shoujo's timeline is largely up to speculation and only loosely follows the Japanese school year, I'll be adjusting it largely to fit the story. For example, some claim that the Yamaku festival occurs in June, yet I disagree firmly, and my story will reflect that.**

* * *

I jolted awake with a start, my hand moving to my beating chest, sweat pouring down my face.

Nearly a week had passed since the first nightmare. It was Saturday morning now, and the night terrors hadn't stopped. In fact, they'd occurred nearly every night after that. I gasped breathlessly, turning to see that it was still fairly early; just after 6:00 am.

I shivered, rubbing my shoulders despite the sweat. These dreams were causing me to get less and less sleep. This was the first night that I'd woken up more than once, but even the sleeping portion of the night was spent turning restlessly.

A timid-sounding knock on my door made me twitch. Had I woken someone up? God, I hoped not.

Still shuddering, I managed to shove myself into my chair. I wheeled myself over to my door, opening it just a crack.

Sure enough, Hisao was standing outside it, a concerned look on his face. Unfortunately for both of us, he'd been given the room right next to mine. These walls weren't particularly thick, so I imagine most noise made it through. Hisao shifted nervously, as though this was fairly unexplored territory for him.

"Did I wake you up?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

The boy shook his head, though I couldn't tell if he was lying. "I'd been up for a little while, but I just wanted to make sure you were okay." He said.

I nodded, letting a yawn escape my lips. "Just nightmares." I said, stretching. "Nothing to be worried about."

He didn't seem convinced, but given the circumstances, I don't think he wanted to press the matter any farther. I gave him a parting nod and a small smile before closing my door. I let out a long, drawn-out sigh, running my hands through my hair. I felt exhausted; like I hadn't gotten any sleep at all.

Glancing at the mirror, I noticed the thick bags under my eyes. If I didn't start getting more sleep each night, people were going to start asking questions. One person in particular.

Lilly had been growing more and more anxious throughout the week. Though she couldn't see the physical consequences of my nightmares, I'm sure she noticed the psychological ones. I had a much shorter temper, and much less patience for most things. I'd been trying to convince her that it was just the schoolwork getting to me, but that would only go so far. Hanako, however, could most certainly see the strain that my sleepless nights had caused me. I didn't know if she'd told Lilly, but I prayed that she hadn't.

A smile crossed my lips as I remembered the date, however. Today was the day that I'd be starting my physical therapy. Originally the nurse had said that it would be okay to start before the weekend, but he had a change of heart at the last minute, saying something along the lines of 'better safe than sorry'.

My mood lightened considerably after that. I unwrapped my bandages, running my hand along the amputated part of my leg. No tenderness remained on the previously-sensitive area. It appeared that it had healed over quite nicely. No trace of the infection remained, either. I decided that I wouldn't wrap my legs today. The Nurse had said that I didn't have to, though that if I got an infection it would be all my fault.

I glanced down at my own body. Some of my previous flabbiness still hung on, but a good deal of it had been burned away by my body's mass production of muscles in my upper body. I chuckled at the irony, realizing that having my legs amputated was one of the better health benefits I'd ever had. I flexed my arm experimentally, chuckling more. I'd never been particularly proud of my body before, but now I sort of did.

I stretched happily, my exhaustion all-but-forgotten as I decided that I would head down to the track this morning. Maybe do a few laps in my chair, as ridiculous as it sounded. I hadn't been to the track in several days, and Emi's curious absence of running requests had made me oddly suspicious. I had also noticed that Hisao tended to get up rather early; certainly earlier than he had to.

A sly grin came to my face as I got ready for the day. The grin only got wider as I heard Hisao's door open and shut, followed by the sound of light jogging down the hall. I knew it.

Following Hisao down the hallway, my arms propelled me much faster than they had before, my muscles much more capable of handling the weight now. I sped after him, keeping a safe distance as to avoid his suspicion. I carefully kept to hiding around corners, peeking after him. He seemed fairly distracted by whatever was on his mind.

We made it to the track after about three minutes. Emi was there before us, unsurprisingly. I hid behind the storage shed as I watched them chat briefly. Emi bounced on her legs excitedly, seeming ecstatic.

They started their run shortly after arriving, shamefully neglecting to do any stretching. I bided my time, waiting for them. Luckily, Hisao's running pace seemed to be pretty slow, and Emi was keeping pace with him. The track passed right by the storage shed at one of its turns, meaning that they would have they backs to me after they passed.

They passed the storage shed finally, their backs turned fully towards me. I rolled out silently, slipping onto the track as I began pushing myself forward, slowly gaining speed. The nice thing about being in a wheelchair is that most of the effort went into gaining the momentum on a smooth surface like this. After that, only a minute amount went into actually sustaining it. Not to mention that this high-quality chair my parents had bought was absolutely _silent_.

I was catching up to them quickly. I could vaguely make out what they were talking about. Something about the Festival, which wasn't for a few weeks, yet. The tires of my wheelchair glided silently across the smooth asphalt, pushing me closer and closer until I was just three feet behind them.

"Good morning." I said, a wide grin on my face.

Emi screamed, whipping her leg through the air as she spun around, kicking out at me. In an impressive display of wheelchair dexterity, I leaned back, my wheelchair balancing precariously of the large wheel in the back, balanced only by my arms as her solid-metal leg passed right where my head had previously been.

Hisao looked startled as well, but more so by Emi's reaction.

I was a bit stunned as I lowered myself back down, staring at the petite girl in front of me, whose face was a stunning shade of red.

"M-MAC!" she yelled, running at me as she landed a hard punch on my arm, causing me to burst out laughing. "YOU ASSHOLE!"

I chuckled, wincing a little more as she continued her physical abuse, only being encouraged by my laughter at her expense.

"Did you follow me out here?" Hisao asked, his eyebrow raised in skepticism.

I grinned, moving away from Emi's fiery punches. "You say that like I didn't know _exactly_ where you were going." I responded, winking.

Hisao blushed a little, signifying that I had indeed hit a nerve. Turning back to Emi, I decided that my teasing wasn't done quite yet. "Emi, I'm surprised at you." I taunted, tilting my head. "I thought for sure when I heard you talking to Rin about the hot guy you were running with that you'd let me in on the loop!" I exclaimed, pretending to be offended. "I didn't think I'd have to come out here and see for myself…" Time until detonation: 3… 2… 1.

Emi's face went through several phases of red, each one getting darker and darker as she glared at me sharply. I decided that now would be a good time to get away. Pushing my wheelchair passed her, my arms strained as I laughed loudly, going as fast as I could manage.

It was for naught, obviously. Emi caught up to me in a matter of seconds, despite the fact I had made it nearly halfway across the track. "I DID NOT SAY ANYTHING LIKE THAT TO RIN YOU JACKASS!" she screeched, grabbing a hold of one of my chair's push handles. With a frightening display of strength, she pulled my chair to a stop in one fluid motion, catching me off-guard.

After all, a body in motion tends to stay in motion.

I flew from my wheelchair in an almost-comical fashion. Thankfully we were at a turn, so I landed in the grass on the side of the track, instead of the hard asphalt.

I hit the ground with my hands first, doing my best to roll off of my arms to absorb the impact a little. Unfortunately, my wrists didn't agree with that idea. My right wrist hit the ground awkwardly, causing a jolt of pain to shoot up my arm as I rolled to a stop, wincing. Groaning, I cradled my wrist, wincing again. Ow.

"Oh my god!" Emi yelled, moving over to me, her mouth spewing apologies left and right.

I brushed her off, waving my hand. "Haha, it's fine, Emi. I landed on the grass, thankfully." I said, chuckling. My wrist was throbbing in a painful way, however. I let it hang loosely at my side, groaning. Using my left hand, I tenderly felt around my legs, making sure they weren't damaged in any way. Miraculously, there wasn't a scratch on them. Good.

"I'msorryI'msorryI'msorry" Emi continued to babble, comically. It was funny to watch, honestly. Her mouth was moving a thousand miles a minute, but the rest of her body was frozen in place, like some form of cracked-out mannequin tape-player.

By this point Hisao had caught up to us, looking mildly concerned. Catching my eye, he nodded, wheeling my chair over. Gratefully, I heaved myself into it, struggling so as to not put any pressure on my right hand. Hisao noticed this, but didn't bring it up.

Emi seemed to snap out of her apologetic trance, her mouth closing as she stared at me, almost looking nauseous.

I laughed, smiling comfortingly at her. "No harm, no foul, Emi. Like I said, I'm fine."

Her face lightened just a touch, before she glanced at my wrists. "I saw you land on your hands. Are they okay?" she asked, worriedly. She was far more perceptive than I gave her credit for.

"Of course!" I exclaimed, smiling. I raised my hands, moving my wrists a little. It took a great deal of effort not to grunt in pain.

Thankfully, it only seemed to be sprained, at worst. If my wrist had broken, I highly doubt that I'd be doing anything other than rolling around in pain. I grimly realized that this could potentially throw a pretty large wrench in my physical therapy. Well, if the nurse found out, that is.

Emi seemed satisfied with my demonstration, but sighed anyways. "Fine… but don't sneak up on me like that! And don't make fun of me!" she mumbled, looking away, embarrassed.

I burst out laughing, patting her on the shoulder. "It's okay, Emi. I ignored the warning signs." I said, winking playfully, I looked back at the two of them. "I've gotta get going, though. You two uh… enjoy yourselves." I said, taking a fairly precarious risk as I chuckled.

Emi huffed and Hisao blushed again, causing me to laugh as I pushed myself forward. The laugh turned into a whimper at the end as my wrist firmly protested this movement. Gritting my teeth, I pushed myself forward more, grimacing. I had to bear through it, and get some ice on my wrist, ASAP. I couldn't have my wrist swelling up like a balloon if I didn't want Nursey-poo to notice.

I made it back to the main buildings quickly enough, though I could feel my wrist starting to swell.

My grimace got deeper as I pushed myself up the ramp, smiling as I saw a familiar face. "Ah, Hanako!" I said, waving with my left hand.

Hanako looked up, looking a little worried before her eyes recognized me. A smile came to her lips as she timidly walked over. "H-hi, Mac." She mumbled, blushing a little.

"Hey there." I responded, smiling. "I uh, was wondering if you could do me a bit of a favor." I said, whispering a little. If Hanako was here, then there was a good chance that Lilly was nearby.

Hanako blinked, looking at me curiously. "A favor?" she asked, looking intrigued. I don't know that I'd ever asked her for anything before.

"Yeah. Could you do me a huuuuuuge favor and grab me an icepack from the Nurse's office?" I asked, smiling. "I need you to pretend that it's for you, though."

Hanako frowned, clearly not taking a liking to the idea of lying to the Nurse. "Why?" she asked, her eyes narrowing. I sighed, hoping that this would have gone smoother.

"Please?" I asked, very slightly pouting at her.

She looked troubled, moving from one foot to the other, glancing at me occasionally. "F-fine… but I'm telling Lilly a-about this…"

I pouted more, looking desperate. "Nononono!" I said, as gently as I could. "Please, you cannot tell Lilly. You absolutely cannot. I'm begging you, Hanako…"

She seemed adamant in her ultimatum, making my stomach drop. Thinking on it, I realized that she'd probably tell Lilly either way. I grimaced as my wrist twitched. I didn't want to lie to Lilly, but I'd given her too many reasons to worry about me as-is.

"Fine." I said, slumping in defeat. "Just, please don't tell the nurse that it's for me."

Hanako nodded, sighing a little herself as she began walking towards the nurse's office. She slipped into the building, giving me one last, annoyed glance. I don't think I'd ever seen Hanako looking annoyed before.

She didn't stay in there long, coming out quickly with a small icepack. Luckily, it was big enough for my wrist. I took it with my right hand, careful not to give away a single sign of pain as I smiled, setting it on my lap. "Thanks." I said, smiling at her. "I mean it. I appreciate this."

Hanako smiled a little as well, nodding. "Y-you're welcome… just m-make sure to have it back by th-the end of the day." She responded. I nodded, grinning. I wouldn't need it that long, anyways. Hanako gave me another curious look. She was obviously interested in what I needed the icepack for, but I was by no means going to divulge that.

I scampered off, wheeling myself to my first class with great difficulty. I quickly made some bullshit excuse to the teacher about needing the first part of the day off for my disability. Enki didn't question it, nodding as handed me my essay that he'd graded, as well as a worksheet for the day. I repeated this process with the rest of my teachers for the day. Luckily, it was a half-day, so I wouldn't have much work.

I had to avoid Emi today. It wouldn't take her long to realize that I actually _had_ hurt my wrist, and she would definitely tell the Nurse about it. Following that would be the inevitable delay in my physical therapy until my wrist healed up. That was unacceptable.

Thinking on it, I didn't actually know when it was that I became so determined to get back on my feet, so to speak. All I knew is that I was damn tired of this chair, and I wanted to be out of it before the Festival. Even if I had to use a cane for a while, that was okay.

I wheeled myself up to the second floor, wincing all the way. The swelling was growing in my wrist, and it hurt more and more to move my chair forward. Luckily, I had made it to the tea room. I had no idea why this room was always empty, but it was extremely convenient for me. Rolling in, I quickly shut the door behind me, squinting. Hanako and Lilly might automatically assume it was in use if they came looking for me here. I'd just have to get out of here before lunch.

Sighing, I set my books and papers down, resting my wrist on the table. The cooling sensation of the table felt amazing as I smiled pleasantly, putting the icepack on top of my wrist. I sat back, relaxing a little as my wrist throbbed lightly. I noted with relief that it actually didn't seem to be that bad. If I took it easy for the next few hours, I could hopefully have my wrist feeling good enough for my first session of physical therapy after classes got out.

I picked up my pencil, quickly setting to work on my first class's work. I'd already missed too much class as it is. I certainly wasn't going to let my grades suffer because of this.

The first two periods passed quickly enough. I had actually finished all of my work early, and had just closed my eyes in an attempt to relax as I heard a sharp static-y noise coming from my coat pocket.

'ZzzZT! H-y man. Do you copy?' came a voice from my coat pocket. Raising an eyebrow, I reached into my coat, pulling out what appeared to be a microphone-earpiece combo stowed away in my coat. 'Do you copy, dude? Dude?' came the voice again

"Uhh…" I said, squinting. "Let me guess. Kenji?" I asked into the microphone, smiling a little.

'Woah! On top of your game as ever, man.' Came the crackling voice again. 'I slipped this into your coat pocket last night while you were sleeping. That way, if you were attacked again, I could call the cops or something.'

I stared at the earpiece flatly. I had locked my door last night. Looks like I would need to invest in a lock that you couldn't pick. On top of that, we'd already discussed that I hadn't been attacked. Kenji really was a piece of work.

Oh well. I suppose I had nothing better to do.

"Don't worry about it, man." I replied, looking out the window in mild boredom. "I've been handling situations like this since the feminists first started coming to power in our era."

Kenji made a noise of agreement. I could just imagine him nodding wisely. 'It's good to have such a capable veteran to fight beside. I just worry for ya, man. You're way deep in enemy territory. It's like, insane.'

"Hey, Kenji, don't worry." I said, trying to sound inspiring and confident. "None of them suspect a thing. And soon, the rewards of our efforts shall come to pass, and we shall be known around the world as the saviors of men."

'-h. –aht the hell –s this?' came another voice across the line. It seemed vaguely familiar.

'Oh, also man, you should know. I put one of these in Hisao's pants. He doesn't wear a coat.' Kenji said quickly.

'Hicchan, why is there a radio-thingy in your pocket?' came Misha's unmistakable voice. I could practically see her head tilted in curiosity.

'I have no idea. I thought I heard someone talking through it…' said Hisao. He seemed just as confused as I did.

Kenji's voice popped up through the line, 'Hey, man. How's it going?'

'God damn it, Kenji. Were you rifling through my stuff again?' Hisao asked, annoyance filtering through the radio. It would appear that personal space wasn't something that Kenji valued all-too highly.

'No. Yes. No. Your uniform technically belongs to the school.' Kenji replied. I heard a giggle from Misha through Hisao's microphone. Apparently Shizune agreed. 'Is that the fat one?' Kenji asked suspiciously. 'No, wait. Mac said that she wasn't fat. There were two of them.'

'I'm not fat! Where's Mac, anyways? I waited outside the school since forever and even checked inside his class after it started. He wasn't there!' Came Misha's wailing voice.

Not liking the sudden turn of the conversation, I quickly chucked the microphone out the window. Hopefully Kenji wouldn't say anything particularly revealing. Not that he knew much, anyways.

Flexing my wrist experimentally, I smiled. It still hurt, but it wasn't nearly as bad as earlier.

I yawned, the lack of sleep from the previous night beginning to weight down on me as I sat in the warm sunlight. Glancing at my watch, I noticed that I still had a good 45 minutes before lunch started. I'd just rest my eyes for a half hour or so, and then head down to the nurse's office for the start of my physical therapy.

Sighing, I laid my head down on the table, the icepack still sitting comfortably on my wrist as I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of the sun on the back of my neck…

* * *

My eyes opened groggily, blinking tiredly as I felt a hand on my shoulder, shaking me tenderly. Had I fallen asleep? How long had I been out?

"My, my. I think he's finally awake." Came the soft voice of Lilly beside me. Stretching my neck, I glanced over at her, noticing her hand on my shoulder. The memories of earlier today came back to me as my eyes widened, glancing down at my wrist instinctively. It looked about the same as earlier, minus the icepack.

The icepack, I discovered, was in Lilly's right hand. She had a curious expression on her face. I sighed. "What time is it?" I asked sleepily.

"Classes just ended for lunch." Lilly said, smiling. Her fingers tightened on my shoulder. "I came up here to see where you were, and perhaps get an explanation for why you sent Hanako on a stealth mission for you." She said, lightly giggling. Her fingers moved down my arm, touching my tender wrist. I tried not to move it, hoping she wouldn't notice.

"Ah, it was nothing, really. I just twisted my wrist a little, and it was kind of sore." I said.

Her fingers gently traced my wrist, feeling out the swollen areas. "This isn't just a little twist, Mac. It feels like it really got hurt…" she said, shaking her head.

I moved my wrist away, blushing. "Doesn't matter. I'm starting my physical therapy today, and I can't afford to have a sprained wrist."

She shook her head again, a small smile on her face. "You're nothing if not stubborn." She sighed, giggling. "But, this obviously means a great deal to you, so I'm not going to try and stop you."

I smiled, relaxing a little. I'd been prepared to make a break for the nurse's office if I'd had to.

"What concerns me more is why you wanted to keep it a secret from me." Lilly stated all of a sudden, looking somewhat sad.

I felt a bit guilty as I looked away. "I just didn't want to worry you anymore. Plus, I'd been looking forward to my physical therapy all week, and I didn't want something like this to stop me."

Lilly gently lifted up my injured wrist, setting it in her hand as she lightly massaged the sore area. It felt quite good, actually. "Mac… you do consider me to be a friend, don't you?" she asked, a bit timidly.

"Of course I do." I said, tilting my head a little in response.

Lilly's lips tugged upwards into a wider, caring smile. "Then why don't you trust me? It's my job, as your friend to worry about you. If I didn't think I could handle it, I wouldn't have bothered." She said sweetly, giggling. "And of course I wouldn't try and stop you from going to physical therapy over this." She said, surprising me a bit. "While I do worry for your well-being from time to time, your happiness is more important than a sprained wrist."

I felt my heartbeat speed up a little, and my face was certainly warmer than normal. "I'm sorry." I mumbled, looking away.

"Don't be." Lilly said cheerfully, setting my wrist down. "Just promise me that you'll take physical therapy slowly until your wrist is better."

I grinned happily, chuckling. "Fine, fine. You win."

She nodded, smiling. "Yes. I always do."

I blinked, glancing at my watch. "Ah, crap." I mumbled, sitting up. "Hey, Lilly… I kinda need to get to the Nurse's…" I trailed off, glancing at her reaction.

She closed her eyes, smiling happily as she nodded. "Okay, then. Good luck in your therapy, Mac." She chirped.

I grunted an affirmation, turning towards the door as I flexed my wrist again. It felt much better than before. I was fairly sure I could handle whatever the Nurse was going to throw at me. Giving Lilly one last smile, I rolled out of the tea room, my school work in tow.

The Nurse was waiting for me near the entrance of the nurse faculty building, his arms crossed. Unsurprisingly, Emi was standing next to him, a smile on her face.

"Emi tells me you skipped class today, Mac" he said, tilting his head at me curiously.

"Ah, I didn't feel too great today." I chuckled, rubbing the back of my hand.

The Nurse laughed as well, scribbling something on his accursed clipboard. "I can imagine so, after getting forcefully thrown from a wheelchair." He shot Emi a stern look, causing her to look away guiltily.

"So she told you about that, huh?" I asked, biting my lip.

The Nurse nodded, sighing. "Although she assured me that you were fine, despite the fall." He replied, raising an eyebrow at me as he gave me a once-over, looking for any obvious injuries. "Either way, unless it's something particularly serious, I think we can continue as scheduled." He concluded, smiling jovially.

My mood brightened considerably as he said that. I gave Emi a thumbs-up, which she returned with gusto, a grin on her face.

"So, what's first?" I asked as the Nurse ushered us into the building. He led us to what appeared to be an examination room.

"Well, first we need to get you fitted with a pair of prosthetics." The nurse said as he looked through a large cabinet. "I had a pair ordered from earlier in the week, and they should fit, unless your legs have swollen recently…" He made a noise as he grabbed something, pulling it out. It was a rather sturdy looking, bulky prosthetics. Definitely not something you'd use in running. He seemed to notice my speculation.

"This is what you may as well call your training wheels." He said, setting them on a table. "They're much thicker than the pair you'll get later. This'll allow you to adjust to your new center of balance a bit easier, and keep your from falling over constantly during the therapy."

I nodded, glancing at them. It made sense. "When will I get a pair that I can actually use on my own?" I asked.

The nurse tapped his chin. "A bit too early to say… but Emi here was hopping around with a cane pretty quickly… if it takes longer than a week, I'd be surprised."

Nodding, I ran my hand along the prosthetics. "Can I try them on?" I inquired, smiling.

The nurse chuckled. "Hold on, skippy. We need to make sure they fit right, first. If they don't, I'll have to adjust them to your leg size. This won't take long." He finished. He quickly untied my pant legs out of their knots, rolling them up. He seemed happy that I hadn't worn bandages today.

He grabbed the left prosthetic, carefully sliding it on. Seeming content at how it fit onto the stub, he strapped it to my leg with a set of harnesses attached to the prosthetic.

"Move your leg around. Make sure it doesn't feel loose or uncomfortable." He said, glancing.

I lifted my leg, straining against the weight of the prosthetic a little. It was a tight fit, but not particularly uncomfortable. I smiled, nodding at him. "It feels good." I said simply.

Emi was sitting quietly in the corner, smiling brightly as she watched.

The nurse repeated the process with the other prosthetic, attaching it, and commanding me to test it. It fit just as well as the other.

He sighed, standing up. "So, Mac. Ready to start walking again?" He asked, a broad grin on his face.

"I never thought you'd ask." I said, smirking. My confidence was short lived as I planted my 'feet' on the ground, however. Not having the inherent 'sense' of where the limb was in relation to my body was really throwing me off, not to mention the lack of feeling. The nurse and Emi made a move to help, but I waved them off. They backed off a little, but stayed within arm's reach.

I flexed my legs, straining as I pushed myself up with my arms, trying to balance myself on my new feet. It was like walking a tight-rope. I wobbled dangerously, my feet sliding a little as I groaned, attempting to steady myself. Finally I managed to get some semblance of balance, allowing me to push myself all the way up.

Panting, I looked down. For the first time in over a month, I was standing on my own. "Wow…" I mumbled, grinning widely.

"Very good, Mac. You have a pretty decent sense of balance." The nurse remarked, raising an eyebrow. He seemed genuinely impressed. "Keep this up, and you may only have to be in here a few days." He laughed, making some notes.

Encouraged by his praise, I made my first mistake on my new set of legs: attempting to move.

My sense of balance vanished immediately as I lifted my leg to turn around, causing me to half-collapse, slamming my head into the wall. My head was taking a lot of abuse lately.

"Ow." I said simply as the nurse and Emi scrambled to push me back up. It took a great deal of effort, as I was considerable larger than both of them.

"Er… maybe we should put a pin in walking without support, Mac." The nurse joked. "You've gotta crawl before you can walk… or whatever."

"Yeah, you dummy. Even _I_ couldn't do that for at least a few days." Emi declared, smiling.

I scoffed. "Psh, whatever. I'm going to be the fastest-learning cripple of all time." I joked, getting a laugh out of the two.

"Let's get you to the therapy room, Mac." The nurse suggested, smiling. "It has a pair of parallel bars you can use for support while you re-learn to balance yourself."

I nodded, sighing as I collapsed back into my chair. "Fair enough." I mumbled, feeling a little put-out.

They wheeled me across the hall to a much larger room. It was right next door to the swimming pool, and had a pair of parallel bars spanning across it. Wasting no time, I heaved myself carefully out of my chair again, this time allowing the nurse to help. He carefully leaned me forward, allowing me to take hold of the bars.

My right wrist groaned in protest, causing me to twitch as the full weight of my body was put on it. I quickly adjusted my legs, allowing them to hold a portion of my weight, much to my relief. My arms wobbled slightly as I attempted to balance myself, planting my feet firmly in the ground.

I watched as Emi took a seat in one of the chairs near the bar, smiling brightly at me. She didn't say anything, not wanting to break my concentration.

I clumsily moved my leg forward, planting my foot on the ground again as I sighed. This was a pretty fair strain on my arms. Putting most of my weight on my outstretched left leg, I pulled myself forward with my arms, clumsily thrusting my right leg forward. It was awkward, but it was the first step I'd taken in over a month.

I grinned to myself, taking a glance at the nurse. He shot Emi a look, who gave him a nod in return. It seemed that Emi had volunteered to keep an eye on me. My suspicion was confirmed at the nurse left the room, probably off to catch up on work.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in the physical therapy room. As the hours went by, my sense of balance began to slowly assimilate itself to accommodate my new legs. Though I wouldn't be ready to walk without the bars for a few days yet, my walking became significantly less strained and awkward.

Eventually the day turned to night. Emi had left about an hour before sunset, convinced that I had enough of a handle on it that I wouldn't hurt myself. The nurse seemed to be fine with the unsupervised therapy, either way. He came checking on me every 15 minutes like clockwork, his smile growing as he watched me struggle with my new legs.

Unfortunately, however, it finally came to be time to lock down the building. Not to mention that curfew would be occurring in an hour. He assured me that I would be free to come in here as often as I liked, barring any disruption to my day-to-day schoolwork.

I smiled, expressing my gratitude briefly as I left, leaving my legs behind per his request. He didn't want to chance me trying to walk without supervision.

I tiredly wheeled myself back to my dorm room, my arms aching and throbbing as I threw myself down on my bed, falling immediately into a sleep far too deep to be interrupted by any of my nightmares.

* * *

**I'm not sure that I'm super thrilled with how this chapter turned out, all-in-all, but I hope you guys enjoyed it.**

**To save you any unnecessary boredom, I'm going to skip over the rest of Mac's physical therapy. We're going to be shooting straight to next weekend.**

**As always, please review, guys. I can't do anything without your input.**


	6. Chapter 5: The Festival

**Chapter 5: The Festival**

**Well, here we are again. The fifth installment of Widening Perspective.**

**I appreciate the feedback I've gotten, even if it's less than I'd initially hoped. Yes, Mac will be meeting Akira. Akira is way too awesome of a character to leave out of a story with this much Lilly in it.**

* * *

Had I been here three weeks already? I thought idly as I stared out the window of class 3-1.

The weeks since I had started my physical therapy had flown by me without me realizing it. The morning sun glared through the windows, causing me to squint, my sleep-deprived eyes closing.

The nightmares hadn't stopped. Though the frequency had slowed a little, I usually still had at least one each night. Hisao seemed to have gotten used to the nightly disruptions, as he hadn't checked up on me in just under a week.

Lilly had been absent recently. Whether it was on purpose or not was unclear, but I hadn't talked to her in days. Upon questioning Hanako about it, she merely gave vague responses. I wasn't even sure if she knew.

Then again, the Festival _was_ tomorrow. Given the proximity, it was understandable that all notable class officials would be swamped with work.

"… that being said, I want you all to have a book picked out by the end of the week and-…" Enki got cut off, glancing at the door as a loud snap echoed throughout the previously-silent classroom.

My head jerked towards the door, my yawn cutoff halfway as I raised an eyebrow. Standing in the doorway with her usual scheming look was Shizune. I sank into my seat a little, lowering my head as I prayed to whatever power may lurk above that she didn't see me.

Her small hand slammed down on my desk, immediately dashing my hopes. I looked up, feeling like a rabbit being cornered by a wolf. Her hand reached into her pocket and grabbed two pieces of paper. One she gave to Enki, and the other she gave to me.

It read: _You're needed in the Student Council room. I've just excused you from the rest of your classes. This is not negotiable._' Short, concise, and to the point.

I stared at her blankly, sighing. Nothing she did was ever negotiable.

"Well, Mac. It would appear that you've been… recruited into helping with the Festival preparations." Enki said, laughing. "You better get going. Ms. Hakamichi isn't particularly patient."

"You don't need to tell _me_ that…" I mumbled, grabbing my things. Shizune tapped her foot impatiently, staring at me with a raised eyebrow. I wondered why she came instead of Misha.

I heaved myself out of my desk, wobbling a little as I carefully balanced myself in my prosthetics, smiling at how easy it'd become. Grabbing my cane, I nodded at Shizune. The girl in question did an abrupt 180, marching out of the classroom. I followed her as fast as I could, hobbling somewhat as I used my cane for support.

Though my physical therapy was essentially concluded, walking was still a challenge. Despite all the time I'd put into getting myself back up on my feet, my balance had not quite adjusted to my new legs. It was much easier than before, but I still had to use a cane to steady myself occasionally. In any case, running was certainly impossible as of now.

Not only my balance, but the muscles in my legs also had to rebuild themselves. Between the damage to them caused by the crash and surgery, not to mention the month and a half I'd spent not using them, my legs were in pretty choppy condition. The muscles had become soft and weak. When I wasn't regaining my balance in physical therapy, I was spending the rest of my time on a stationary bike, where I could adjust the resistance and build up my muscle mass quicker.

Thankfully, the increase in exercise in my daily life had quickly caused me to burn off any remaining flabbiness on my body. I wasn't exactly in shape, but I was certainly in better condition than when I'd arrived at the school.

Shizune's pace quickened as we made our way down the first floor hall, turning towards the council room. I struggled to keep up, depending on my cane more as my pace quickened. It tapped loudly on the linoleum, echoing down the empty hall.

I panted a little as we finally arrived at the council room, my legs slightly strained from the unusually fast pace that Shizune had set. She gave me a playful smirk before ducking into the council room. As I followed her inside, I realized that it was much more crowded than usual. Two additional people were inside the room, aside from Shizune, Misha, and myself.

On one side of the room, making measurements and attaching posters to plywood was Hisao. Judging by the deep scowl plastered to his face, he was here under similar circumstances to my own. He glanced up, raising an eyebrow at my appearance. His eyes quickly flicked to Shizune, and then to me. He gave me a sympathetic look, shrugging a little as if to say '_What can ya do_?'

"Ms. President, I can't help but feel that you're wasting a great deal of staples at my expense." Came a soft voice from the other side of the room. I recognized it immediately.

I smiled as I saw Lilly sitting near Misha on the other side of the room. She appeared to be sorting through stacks of papers that Misha was sending her way. Shizune scowled as Misha translated Lilly's statement, before signing her reply.

"Well, as class representative, it's your duty to help out with the preparations. I simply came up with a work-around to allow you to help your school further! Wahaahah~" came Misha's voice from beside Lilly. I saw the blonde girl in question flinch from the volume of Misha's statement.

Lilly sighed, her thumb brushing across the papers. "Yes, I understand that, however, I seem to notice that the representative from 3-1 isn't here, and that seems to be a more suitable work-around than adding extra staples to your documents." She stated, holding up a paper for emphasis. I noticed that the various documents had differing amounts of staples in them, likely to allow Lilly to sort them.

Misha translated what she said quickly. I yawned silently as I watched Shizune sign her already-prepared reply. "And that's where you're wrong~" Misha chirped. "Though I couldn't get the class representative, I managed to get the next best thing."

I frowned. "How exactly am I the next best thing?" I demanded, crossing my arms.

Lilly's face brightened a little as I spoke up. "Oh, is that Mac?" she asked, smiling.

"Yep~" Misha giggled, passing Lilly another stack of papers. "Shicchan knows how much you two seem to enjoy working together, and we needed another person anyways~. Two birds with one stone!"

Hisao shot me a look as Misha said that, his eyebrow raising as a sly grin came to his face. That was not good. If he told Emi… oh lord.

My panicked thoughts were interrupted rudely as Shizune grabbed me by the arm, dragging me forcefully over to where Lilly was working. With a surprising amount of strength she forced me into the chair next to her, pointing at a stack of blank poster-sized papers, and a crudely-drawn template for me to use as a reference.

"You want me to draw?" I asked, incredulously. "Posters? For the festival?"

Shizune nodded sharply, signing something at me. "Yes! We're short on posters, and we need a few more for the stands that Hicchan is helping put together!" Misha giggled, pointing at Hisao

"I hope you realize that I have all the artistic talent of a beached whale." I stated, looking at Shizune. Lilly giggled at my comment, smiling.

"None is required!" Misha translated, smiling. "Just roughly copy the sketch given to you, and give each one to Hicchan."

A sigh escaped my lips as I realized that I really had no choice. I nodded in acknowledgement, waving Shizune away. I turned in my chair, watching as Lilly returned to her work. On the plus side, I'd get to spend some much-desired time with Lilly.

"Hanako tells me that you finished your therapy." Lilly stated, a small smile on her lips.

I chuckled, patting my leg. "Yeah. Took longer than I expected, but I'm finally able to shamble around again."

Lilly smiled wider. "I'm glad that your hard work finally paid off." She said simply. "Though I am sorry that I wasn't able to visit you much during your therapy. I've been working around the clock for the festival for the last week." She finished, looking exhausted.

I began drawing the borders for my first poster. "It's okay, Lilly. Emi was there for me the whole way, so I had plenty of company." I was immensely relieved that Lilly hadn't been avoiding me. It felt like a considerable weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

My last statement seemed to catch Lilly's interest. She bit her lip, her smile slipping a little. The look vanished as quickly as it had appeared, and a grin came to her lips. "You and Emi seem quite close." She teased playfully. "You two aren't secretly dating, are you?"

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Hisao's head lift just a fraction of an inch, his eyes glancing over in our direction through his hair. His body was unusually tense.

I blushed a little, laughing quietly. "No, no. Emi's great… but I don't know. I've just never felt like that about her."

The tension building up in Hisao washed away immediately, and I watched as he returned to his work. I'd suspected that he had feelings for Emi, but this was the first evidence to the fact that I'd seen. The two always ran together in the mornings, so I suppose it was only natural.

Lilly's face was oddly passive as she processed the information before smiling pleasantly. "I was just teasing, Mac." She said. Her tone was oddly cheerful.

I chuckled light-heartedly, returning to my work. I'd just finished the borders when a thought came to my mind. "Hey, Lilly?" I asked tentatively.

"Hmm?" she responded, quietly sorting the documents in front of her.

"Are you going into town later today?" I asked, biting my lip. Part of me was just looking for an excuse to hang out with Lilly, but the practical side of me realized I'd have to go down either way.

Lilly smiled, nodding. "I am." She said simply, giggling. "It's quite the coincidence that you asked. I was going to ask you the same thing."

"I don't suppose you'd mind if I tagged along then, would you?" I inquired, a large smile plastered to my face.

"Not at all. I'm going to need someone to read the labels again, anyways." She replied. "Hanako missed some more class, so she needs to get her work done if she wants to participate in the festival at all tomorrow."

I blinked. "Hanako? Participating in the festival? She didn't seem like the festival type to me." I said.

Lilly giggled at my expense. "Hanako is indeed very shy, but she's not so timid that she can't enjoy the quieter parts of the festival." She responded, smiling. I felt rather silly now. Lilly sighed, pushing a stack of papers to the side. "What are you doing for the festival?" she asked me.

"Me?" I hadn't really thought about it, actually. I wasn't normally for large gatherings of people, but maybe it'd be different here. "My schedule's open. I didn't have anything in particular planned."

"Would you like to spend the day with Hanako and I?" Lilly questioned. She bit her lip again, splitting a stack of papers in half.

I smiled. I should have thought of going with them in the first place. "Yeah, sure. I can't say that I'm particularly experienced at these kinds of events, though…"

Lilly's smile reappeared. "It's quite alright. We'll likely stay away from the particularly crowded areas." She said, humming to herself quietly. She frowned suddenly, as if remembering something. She bit her lip again, a habit I was beginning to associate with anxiety. I left her to her thoughts for a few minutes, glancing over at her periodically.

After a brief silence, Lilly spoke up again. "We… that is, Hanako and I are planning on spending part of the evening tomorrow having tea…" she said, looking a little nervous. "Would you like to accompany us?"

"Do they allow you to use the tearoom on Sundays?" I questioned, curious.

Lilly giggled slightly. "No, they don't. We'll be in my dorm room." She said, looking away.

Oh. Ohhh.

I gaped stupidly for a second before recovering. "Oh, uhh… sure?" The answer came out far less confident than I'd intended. I saw Lilly's face flush a little as I responded.

"You don't have to." Lilly said. "I just thought I'd offer…" she mumbled, so quietly that I could barely hear.

I blinked, caught off-guard by her subdued demeanor as I stammered. "N-No! I'd love to. You just surprised me. That's all." I said, smiling a little.

Her smile crept back onto her face, making me sigh in relief. The very last thing I wanted to do was make her upset.

"Good morning." said Hisao from right beside me, using the exact same tone I had when I'd snuck up on him and Emi. I jumped, jerking around. When had he gotten there? He had a smug look on his face, like he'd just gotten a whole lot of blackmail on somebody. I had a feeling that I was that somebody.

"I see that you're not even done with your first poster yet." Hisao said, smirking a little. "You aren't getting… distracted… are you?" He gave Lilly a glance before looking back at me. He dug through his pocket, pulling out a small sheet of paper. It was a note.

'_Next time you decide to tease me and Emi, just think back to this moment._' Read the note. Clearly it was meant to be a playful jab, but even the letters themselves seemed sinister in nature.

I scowled at him, my lips set in a thin line. Oh, this meant war. "Not at all." I said smoothly, staring him in the eye. "I just like to take my time with these things." Smirking, I pulled out the note he handed me. Underneath his message I wrote my reply: '_Challenge accepted__._'

He read the note as I handed back to him, chuckling slightly. With that, he walked away, shooting me one last glance.

Lilly had remained quiet throughout the exchange, but giggled softly after Hisao left. "There was more to that conversation than I was privy to, wasn't there?"

"Maybe." I said, grinning as I went back to my drawing. I was almost done with the first poster, thankfully. Lilly just shook her head, muttering something that sounded a lot like, 'Boys…'

It didn't take me terribly long to finish the rest of the posters as the conversation died down. After I'd finished that, Shizune had me work with Hisao to get the rest of the stands built while the girls handled the remainder of the paperwork.

By the time lunch rolled around, we'd completed all of our work. Shizune seemed pleased with what we'd gotten done, and Misha confirmed that we would have enough supplies for the festival tomorrow, even if only by a small margin.

The bell rang sharply, causing me to jump a little. The time had passed quite a bit faster than I'd realized.

"Ready to go?" I asked Lilly, walking over to her side. She was currently stacking the papers neatly off to the side of the class.

Lilly looked up, somewhat surprised. "Weren't we going to have lunch first?"

I fidgeted a little, grinning. "Well, I was hoping that we could actually have lunch in town… while we were down there."

"Like a date?" Lilly asked, smiling teasingly.

My mouth hung open a little as I blinked in surprise. Lilly giggled at my lack of a response, which spurred me to collect myself.

"Sure. A date." I said, grinning. This time it was Lilly's turn to look shocked. It passed quickly however, and a small smile graced her lips.

"That sounds wonderful, Mac." She responded. "I just need to drop by 3-3 and let Hanako know that we're leaving early, okay?"

I made a noise of agreement, smiling widely. Grabbing my cane, I made my way out the door, Lilly trailing close behind me. It didn't take us long to reach 3-3, as it was just down the hall. Lilly popped inside quickly after I confirmed that Hanako was indeed inside. Mutou, the science teacher, barely acknowledged our presence as we drifted in, and then back out of the classroom.

We strolled out of the main building. As we exited the grounds, I felt Lilly's hand touch my arm. Looking at her curiously, I watched as she hooked her arm around mine at the elbow. "Do you mind?" she asked softly. "I find that I can enjoy the walk quite a bit more if I don't have to worry about where I'm going."

Even if I had, I doubt I could have had the heart to say that I did. "No, that's fine. So long as you trust me not to run us off the road." I joked, stumbling just a little as I said that.

"I trust you." Lilly said simply, smiling softly as her grip on my arm tightened. I blushed a little as she said that, smiling. That meant a lot.

The rest of the walk was done largely in silence as we strolled down the hill to the town, enjoying each other's presence. The sun shined brightly on my back, warming me up as I sighed happily. I glanced at the girl on my arm, my heart fluttering a little. Not in a million years could I have pictured a scenario like this folding out for me.

"Want to grab lunch before we shop?" I suggested as we walked into town. The grocery store was closer than the Shanghai, but I really didn't want to be dragging those bags all over town. Lilly nodded at my suggestion, obviously thinking something similar.

I walked up past the grocery store, retracing my steps to the Shanghai as I lightly hummed to myself. Glancing down the road, I squinted as I watched two people that were standing in front of the Shanghai. As we got closer, I clicked my tongue as I recognized who they were.

"All hands on deck, Lilly. Our date's about to get interrupted." I whispered, smiling a little.

"Oh…" Lilly said, tilting her head in the direction of the people in question. A small grin came to her face as she recognized the voices. "Is that…?"

Emi and Hisao. I was impressed that she could recognize their voices clear over here.

The two in question caught notice of us, turning towards us simultaneously. Even though we were still a good 30 feet away, I could see the shit-eating grin threatening to tear Emi's face in half. I could just imagine how good of an opportunity this must have been for her. The one person in the world (minus, perhaps, the nurse.) who constantly bugged and teased her about her social life was walking down the road with a girl on his arm. What colorful ammunition I'd just provided her.

"Hello Maaaac~" Emi practically sang, staring at me with her trademark devilish grin. "What brings you and Lilly to the Shanghai?

I mulled the potential answers over in my head. Should I say it's a date? Lilly seemed like she agreed with the notion earlier, but I wasn't sure if she was serious or not. She may have just been joking; in which case me saying that could come off as weird and awkward.

"We're on a date." Lilly said, giggling. I raised an eyebrow at her, grinning. Well, that settled that.

"Oh reeeaaally?" Emi said, dragging out the vowels. "How fascinating, Mac. You never told me you had a girlfriend!" she chirped, giggling.

Lilly's face flushed a little as she said that, clearly embarrassed.

"We're just on a date, Emi. That doesn't make her my girlfriend." I said flatly, scowling at the pig-tailed demon. "That being said, I didn't realize that you were dating Hisao, here." I said, shooting her remark right back at her. "Well, I suppose I did, in a way. You two are hardly separable."

Emi blushed, huffing. "We're just having lunch together!" she exclaimed, getting flustered. Hisao seemed to share her embarrassment, and I shot him a smug look for good measure. It would seem that they were still quite unsure about where they stood in regards to one another.

"Shall we go inside?" Lilly proposed, breaking the awkward silence between the two.

Hisao nodded, slipping inside as Emi followed, trailed closely by us.

Yuuko was not working today, for whatever reason. It was almost sad, really. I enjoyed talking to her when she wasn't so wound-up. The waitress that was on duty quickly found us a seat. Though I was a little bummed that I wouldn't get to have lunch alone with Lilly, I shrugged it off. We would be spending most of tomorrow together, after all.

I wasn't particularly hungry, so I ordered myself a small sandwich and a cup of coffee. Lilly ordered something similar, except she ordered tea in lieu of coffee. Hisao and Emi seemed content to have sweets for lunch, both of them ordering a small cake. The waitress bustled away, looking a bit stressed. Glancing around, I noticed that the café was indeed rather full. It appeared that only the one waitress was on duty. That was harsh.

"So Emi," Lilly began, striking up a conversation. "Mac tells me that you were there through most of his physical therapy."

Emi giggled, bouncing in her seat a little. "Uh huh! It's always easier to follow something through if you have someone there with you." She said, smiling. Her pigtails bobbed up and down.

"Pshh." I said, smiling. "She worked me like a slave. I never had a moment's rest with her around."

Hisao rolled his eyes, glancing at me. "You never have a moment's rest, period. Emi must really scare the shit out of you, given those nightmares." The comment was made casually enough. Hisao had no idea what my nightmares were really about.

Before I could respond, Lilly piped up. "Nightmares?" She asked. Her question was posed so casually that Hisao thought nothing of it.

"Mmh." Hisao acknowledged. "He's up one, two times a night from them. I'm surprised Kenji hasn't said anything about it, yet."

I twitched nervously in my seat. Emi looked at me sternly, her eyes piercing mine as I looked away, grimacing. This was quickly going awry. "You never said anything about nightmares, Mac." Emi said. The cheerfulness evaporated from her voice.

"I've gotten them since I was a kid." I said casually, taking a drink of my coffee. "They're just night terrors. No big deal." This was a lie, of course. I'd always been quite the sound sleeper.

Emi frowned, staring at me with a look frighteningly akin to understanding. The tone of the conversation even caught Hisao's attention. He appeared to have finally caught on that this was more than he'd originally thought.

Lilly was quiet as she ate her sandwich. Her face seemed passive as she chewed. I could practically see the gears in her mind turning. Given the current company, maybe she thought that now wasn't the most appropriate time to address the issue.

An awkward silence broke across the table once again, and I turned to my sandwich. Awkward conversation or not, I was still hungry. As I glanced across the table at Hisao and Emi, I began to realize how troublesome it was to keep friends with people who all knew each other. Confide in one, and soon they all knew.

At the same time, though... it was a sense of belonging that I'd never really felt before. Even though I didn't know any of these people particularly well, it felt like we were all tied together by something more complicated than mere friendship. As I glanced down at my legs, I sighed. Maybe we were.

Speaking of which…

I looked up, my eyes looking straight at Hisao. It had been nearly a month, and I still had no idea what he was here for. Whatever it was, he was certainly playing it pretty close to the chest. Was it something embarrassing? That was certainly possible, though it couldn't be more embarrassing than having to drag yourself around in a wheelchair for two weeks.

Should I ask him? It seemed like it would be something that he'd want to divulge on his own, though. I bit my lip, frowning. Choices, choices.

In the end, I decided not to. We didn't know each other that well, but if he felt like I should know, then he'd tell me on his own time. I think he appreciated that I didn't pester him about it, anyways.

The rest of lunch passed quickly enough, maintained by light conversation between the four of us. I decided that I rather liked hanging out with Emi and Hisao. Not only because it was infinitely entertaining to tease them, but because they brought a certain… consistency to the group. The talks between myself and Lilly were usually fairly spotty, and Emi and Hisao were able to fill in the gaps of silence quite nicely.

We finished up lunch and split the bill. The waitress bowed and collected our dishes, smiling as we left the building.

The two said their goodbyes as we left the café, Emi throwing me one last stray glance as she walked off with Hisao, her normally happy disposition surprisingly subdued. Soon enough they turned a corner and were out of earshot, leaving just Lilly and myself.

Not one to allow an opportunity to slip by, Lilly spoke up. "I didn't know you were still having nightmares." She said quietly, walking forward.

I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. "Yeah, I'm still having them." I submitted, looking towards the school. We still had to run and grab groceries.

"Remember that you promised to talk about it." Lilly reminded me, slipping my arm around mine again, allowing me to walk us towards the store.

"I remember." I replied, yawning. I'd honestly hoped that she'd forgotten about that. "Not until after the festival, though. As we agreed." I stated.

Lilly tightened her hold on my arm, clearly displeased that I'd remembered that particular condition. However, she let it go, sighing wistfully. "Very well. So long as you keep your promise." She said, smiling a little.

I smiled back, patting her arm reassuringly. "Don't worry. I will."

I saw her frown, mulling something over. "Mac… can we stop for a moment?" she asked softly.

Naturally, I couldn't have said no even if I'd wanted to. "Sure. There's a bench coming up if you want to rest." I said, smiling. Lilly nodded at the idea, allowing me to guide us to it.

We sat down on the bench, and Lilly fidgeted a little. "Something on your mind?" I asked tentatively, gauging her reaction.

"Would you allow me to feel your face?" Lilly asked, smiling gently.

The question took me way off-guard. Feel my face? "Um… sure." I said, feeling a little awkward, but grateful that I'd decided to shave this morning.

Lilly nodded, closing her eyes as she reached up, placing her hand on my cheek. With soft, gentle strokes she ran her fingers along the contours of my face, her own expression twitching a little. Her fingertips brushed first along the outline of my face, like an artist establishing an outline before filling in the center.

I idly wondered if she could feel the heat from my cheeks as I flushed from the intimate contact, watching her fingertips touch down across my forehead. This must be how she 'saw' people. Far more intimate in nature than how a non-blind person would go about it, so I can't imagine that she does this often.

Her facial muscles adjusted very slightly as her fingers circled my eyes. I closed them out of reflex. I could just imagine her committing all of my features to memory. I twitched in spite of myself as she touched my ears. She giggled at the reaction.

She cupped my cheek as she finished, brushing it with her thumb. "Thank you, Mac." She said quietly, her eyes still closed.

"Not at all." I managed to sputter out, my cheeks likely very red.

"You're quite handsome." She stated, smiling gently. I'm sure my cheeks turned a brighter shade of red.

"H-how…" I mumbled, tilting my head curiously.

Lilly giggled cutely, wrapping her arm around mind again. "Just because I can't see doesn't mean I can't have preferences of my own." She said, her tone teasing.

I chuckled, blushing a little bit. "I guess I just didn't realize…" I mumbled, looking away. Lilly smiled, patting my hand reassuringly.

"It's quite alright, Mac." She responded, pulling us up off the bench. I followed suit, sighing contentedly. This had turned out to be quite the day. "Shall we be off?" she asked, gesturing down the road. I nodded, squeezing her arm as I led us forward.

The rest of our trip into town was rather boring. We gathered up our groceries in silence, only breaking it to confirm or deny what we'd need to be buying. It was still mid-afternoon by the time we decided to head back up into town. We walked back up the hill, my cane tapping along the road as I leaned on it for support. On level surfaces I could usually fair well enough without my cane, but hills were a little much for me still. Glancing down at the girl whose arm was wrapped around mine, I smiled. Lilly was always fascinating to be around. She was so proper, and yet never failed to surprise me with her teasing remarks.

We walked casually through the front gates until we got to the area in front of the main building. I looked at Lilly, "I'll probably be heading back to my dorm now… are we meeting up anywhere in particular for the festival tomorrow?" I asked, smiling.

Lilly tapped her chin, thinking. "Mmmh… no, I don't think so. We'll find you." She decided, giving me a smile.

That was good enough for me, I suppose. "Well, alright then." I said, grinning. "I had a really nice time today, Lilly." I finished, glancing at her.

Lilly gave me her sweetest smile, squeezing my arm. "The feeling is mutual. I'd say that our first date was a success." She teased, grinning coyly. "…but, I must be going as well. I'll talk to you tomorrow, Mac." She announced, nodding towards me.

I blushed a little as I made a noise of acknowledgement, sighing as I started walking back to my dorms. As I entered the building, a thought occurred. Wait… _first_ date? Was she implying that we might go on more? I grinned at the thought, shrugging it off as I sighed. Either way, I'd be content.

Arriving at my dorm, I strolled inside, locking the door behind me. I took a seat at my desk and pulled off my prosthetics with a sigh of relief. Rubbing the sore area near the bottom of my legs, I winced. I definitely wasn't used to walking around yet, though my legs were adjusting better than I'd expected.

I grimaced as I spied the stack of homework on my desk; the bi-product of spending the entire day in the Council room, unfortunately. Sighing to myself, I started on my English work, rolling my shoulders. It's not like I regretted spending time with Lilly, anyways.

* * *

_The same old scene again. My mind whirred erratically as I watched the passing lights and sounds, the dream playing out like it normally did. Once again, the scenery changed, bright lights and sounds vanishing completely as it grew dark and cold, tail lights flashing back and forth._

_The car pulled out in front of us again, and time seemed to slow down as we flew through the intersection. Something was different this time, though. No longer was I in the passenger seat. This time I was behind the wheel, my mind foggy and jumbled from the alcohol I'd ingested. A glint of gold caught my eye to my right, and my blood ran cold as I shakily turned, time coming to a standstill as I saw the cloudy blue eyes of Lilly Satou staring back at me, a gentle smile on her face. She was facing forward, blissfully unaware of the imminent crash._

_Metal crunched against metal, and I screamed._

"LILLY!" I yelled, bolting up in bed once again.

My heart throbbed painfully in my chest, pounding against my ribs as I sucked in air, my lungs aching as well. I shuddered, hunched over in my bed as I looked around, my eyes wide in terror.

I felt something run down my cheek, prompting my hand to come up. My fingers touched liquid as I glanced at them. Was I crying? I shivered lightly, forcing my heart to slow down as I wiped away my tears, glancing over at my clock; it was just past 9 AM. I'd been asleep quite a bit longer than I thought.

My mind drifted back to the nightmare, and I cringed. This was the first time I'd had Lilly in any of my nightmares before. Another tear ran down my cheek at the thought.

I slowly climbed out of bed, sliding on my legs as I looked at my reflection. My eyes were tired and sleep-deprived; the normally dark-outlines around them now tinted with red from my crying. I can't say that I'd ever cried in my sleep before, but it was certainly unpleasant.

My heart finally settled in its normal rhythm, allowing me to hear the outside world. I could hear the hustle and bustle of the festival outside. Even from the dorms, it sounded quite lively.

My eyes flashed to my door as two timid knocks sounded on the wood. Narrowing my eyes, I realized that it could be neither Kenji nor Hisao. Neither of them knocked like that, meaning I was left with one likely possibility. It would appear that Lilly had indeed come to find me. I just desperately prayed that she hadn't heard the ruckus coming from my room.

Not bothering to put on a shirt for obvious reasons, I opened the door, glancing out into the hall. The first thing I noticed was that it was not Lilly at the door.

A pair of dark purple eyes widened as I opened the door, a colorful blush forming just beneath them. I blinked once, staring at Hanako. She stared back. Her face turned several shades of red, obviously inspired by my lack of decent clothing. I was too shocked at my failure to properly account the likelihood of Hanako being at the door to do anything other than stare stupidly, my jaw hanging open as I tried to process the information.

Hanako snapped out of her reverie, turning around as she hid her face in her hands, yelling rather loudly, "LillySaidToMeetUsInFrontOfTh eSchool!" she yelped, before dashing down the hall, speeding away from the awkward situation.

The door next to mine opened and Hisao popped his head out, glancing at the fleeing Hanako. "What uh… happened to…" he then turned his head to me, and raised an eyebrow. "Oh." He said simply, grinning at me. "Didn't anyone ever teach you that it was rude to flash people, Mac?" he teased, smirking at me.

"Oh, shut up." I said, chuckling playfully as I retreated back into my room. I was incredibly relieved that Hisao had stopped bringing up the nightmares in the morning.

I pulled on a shirt, glancing in the mirror to double check that my attire was appropriate. I didn't know if it was quite festival material, but it'd have to do. I quietly slipped out of my room, cane in hand as I silently made my way past Kenji's room. I wasn't really in the mood to be caught in another of his rants.

Unfortunately for him, Hisao was not quite so lucky. He had left right after me, and Kenji managed to ambush him as he passed his room.

I chuckled to myself as I slipped out of the dorms, hearing the echoes of Kenji's insane rant echoing down the hallways. It had something to do with Communist Feminists.

His ranting was soon drowned out by the roaring activity of the school grounds. The festival was even more popular than I'd originally anticipated. As I walked in front of the school, I was surprised to see that the stands had been moved out here practically overnight. All across the grounds were students running and yelling orders. The smell of fried food wafted through the air, reminding me that I hadn't had breakfast. Though none of the gaming stands had been fully set up yet, I could see that many students were working on them.

Not only students, though. There were many adults, both staff and non-staff, running around the grounds as well. Not to mention the siblings of some of the students.

I quickly spotted Lilly as I weaved my way through the mass of students, and it became quickly apparent why she hadn't come to my dorm herself; she was absolutely swamped. Lilly was pacing back and forth, conversing with several students around her class' stand. She looked somewhat frantic as she directed things around the stand. Her class was doing a noodle stand, and it actually looked quite nice.

"Yo." I said, coming up to the stand. I leaned against the counter, grinning at her.

Lilly smiled as she heard my voice, turning towards me. "Hello, Mac. I'm glad to hear that Hanako found you alright… though she was acting strange when she got back." She said, her expression curious. I caught sight of Hanako a ways off, reading a book in the shade of a tree. She seemed to be diligently avoiding looking in my direction.

"Yeah… I kinda thought it was you at the door, so I answered it without a shirt on." I muttered, glancing back at Lilly. "I think I permanently scarr- er, traumatized the poor girl." I said, stumbling over my own faux pas.

"Oh my." Lilly said, raising an eyebrow. "Well, that certainly would explain it…" she mumbled, giggling a little. She was momentarily distracted by a classmate who came asking for directions. My stomach chose that moment to growl loudly.

Lilly heard it, however, and giggled. "I take it you haven't had breakfast?" she asked, smiling.

I nodded. "Not yet. You guys have anything good on the menu?"

Lilly tapped her chin. "Well, we're more of a lunch-type stand… but, if you don't mind having ramen, we could set you up with something." She responded, nodding.

"Ramen sounds delicious." I said, licking my lips. I was suddenly famished.

The service was actually quite good. I had a bowl of hot ramen in my hands within minutes of my ordering it. I left the stand for a moment, allowing Lilly to get back to work. It would appear that she'd be more preoccupied than she originally thought.

Glancing over at Hanako, I decided that I may as well address the issue at hand. I didn't need there to be any weirdness between myself and Hanako, whom I'd grown to enjoy the company of.

She squeaked as I sat down next to her, burying her still-red face into the book she was reading. I glance over at her, smiling nervously. "Sorry about earlier, Hanako." I mumbled, looking up at the sky. "I sort of thought you were Lilly… so…" I trailed off, letting the sentence drift.

Hanako glanced at me, still looking rather embarrassed. "I-it's okay… I j-just didn't expect that…" she mumbled quietly. I chuckled at her response.

"Yeah, I wouldn't fully expect you to anticipate something like that." I said, blowing across my steaming hot bowl of ramen. It smelled delicious. Taking a sample, I grinned. "Have you had breakfast yet? Lilly's class' noodles are great."

Hanako smiled, glancing back at her book. "I already a-ate earlier, but thank you." She said. Hanako seemed much less tense now, thankfully.

I nodded, taking another bite of my ramen as I slurped down the noodles, my stomach rumbling gratefully as it got its morning sustenance. I watched Lilly move back and forth from a distance. She commanded a great deal of authority within her class, naturally, but it was still amazing to watch her operate so smoothly. Out of the corner of my eyes I watched Hanako occasionally peering at me from behind her dark hair, a small smile on her lips.

We sat in peace for several minutes. It worked out great for me, as I had no real motivation to do much other than siphon down the rest of these outstanding noodles. I'd need to find whoever made these and hug him. A lot.

A pair of legs interrupted my view of Lilly's stand, and Hanako gave a surprised squeak. Following the legs upwards, I locked eyes with none other than the Chief Nurse himself, a noodle hanging out of the side of my mouth. Well, crap.

"What's up, nursey-poo?" I asked, my words somewhat slurred by the food in my mouth. I knew exactly what this was about, however.

The nurse grinned, squatting down to my level as he looked me in the eye. "You haven't been to my office in three days, Mac. I'm beginning to get the impression that you're avoiding me."

I rolled my eyes. "Nursey, if I'd been avoiding you, you wouldn't have found me."

He chuckled at my response, glancing down at my legs. "Either way, I need to check up on your legs, kiddo. This is a very crucial time for you. Your legs are most susceptible to getting infected during your first weeks on your prosthetics." He said sternly. I could see that this wasn't going to be a negotiation. I looked past him towards Lilly; it didn't look like she'd have a free moment in the near future anyways.

"Alright, alright." I submitted, standing up awkwardly, using the tree for support. "Let's go get this over with." Glancing down at the confused Hanako, I gave her a smile. "I'll be back in like, 10 minutes. If Lilly gets a break before I get back, let her know that I'll be back soon, alright?" I asked.

Hanako gave me a timid nod, smiling. With that, I turned towards the nurse's office, beckoning him to follow.

As expected, the visit with the nurse didn't last all that long. He took off my prosthetics and gave my legs a once-over before applying a disinfectant salve to them for good measure. I mentioned that my legs had been sore from the previous day, which earned me an annoyed look and a rant about how I should address these things more seriously. He determined that it was possible that the padding in my prosthetics wasn't thick enough. To compensate, he added a bit of cushioning in the form of some soft fabrics. Upon testing out the new cushioning, I agreed that it was quite a bit better. This seemed to please him.

With that, he abruptly kicked me out of his office, warning me that if I ever skipped out on my checkups again, he'd start slipping laxatives into my food. As I walked back towards the festival, I idly wondered if he had the means to follow through on that threat, or if it was even worth testing to begin with.

I got back to where Hanako was sitting, only to discover that my seat had been stolen by Lilly, who was happily enjoying a bowl of ramen.

I sat next to Lilly, causing her to jump a little as she turned to me. "Mac?" she asked, blinking.

"Yep!" I responded cheerfully. "I trust that Hanako informed you where I was?"

"She did indeed." Lilly replied, smiling softly. "Was everything fine with your legs?"

I smiled brightly, though she couldn't see it. "Right as rain. I just needed a bit more padding to relieve some of the pressure on them." I said, sighing contently. The shade felt nice in contrast to the bright sun.

Lilly nodded, smiling gently. "I'm glad." She said simply, sampling some more of her noodles.

"So, do we have anything specific on the agenda today?" I asked, glancing across the festival. Even though we were near the quieter area, the level of activity was extraordinary.

Lilly finished her noodles, humming to herself. "Mmh… nothing in particular for me, and I don't think Hanako wants to do anything specific. Did you have something in mind?" she asked.

"Not particularly, though I was thinking about heading over to the gaming stands when they opened…" I mumbled, glancing at them. Lilly smiled at the thought, and even Hanako perked up, glancing over her book.

"That sounds fun. I'm sure you and Hanako can win a few prizes." Lilly said, closing her eyes.

I noticed her tone change immediately, frowning. "What? You expect me and Hanako to do all the work? We'll find something for you to do as well." I said teasingly, nudging her side playfully. My teasing had the intended effect as I watched a smile come to Lilly's lips.

Our relaxing conversation came to an abrupt halt as a student from Lilly's class ran over to us, requesting Lilly's assistance maintaining the stand. Honestly, did she have to do everything? Lilly seemed to share my sentiments as she sighed, but said nothing. I stood up, helping her to her feet as I smiled.

"I'd be happy to help out if you need an extra pair of hands." I volunteered.

Lilly's face brightened. "Oh, would you? We're horribly understaffed, which wouldn't be so bad by itself, except that the only people that have acceptable vision decided not to show up today." Lilly muttered, looking genuinely annoyed.

I laughed quietly, nodding. "Yeah, I'd be glad to help. What do you need the most help with?" I inquired.

Lilly tapped her chin as we walked over to the stand, her brow furrowing. "Probably inventory, honestly. We've developed a system for identifying ingredients purely by touch, but it's a slow process." She gestured towards the back of the stand. I could see several divided piles of ingredients and materials, meticulously organized for the benefit of the class. The piles were rather low, unfortunately. I noticed a large stack of various ingredients off to the side, but they were unorganized on the whole. "If you could resupply the inventory we already have, it'd be a huge help." She said, smiling.

"Consider it done." I said, nodding with enthusiasm. Glancing at the stack of ingredients, I frowned. The labels on each of the ingredient containers were written in braille, unsurprisingly. Luckily, the ingredients were sorted into matching containers, so it was merely a matter of matching up the containers to the ones already organized in the inventory pile.

I got straight to work, grabbing several of the containers at a time as I quickly hobbled back and forth between the areas, focusing on not falling over. I couldn't help shooting glances at Lilly, who was working the stand, taking orders. Occasionally someone from the cooking station would come over and grab a couple containers of ingredients. If they noticed what I was doing, they'd generally give me a greeting and thank me.

After about a half hour, Hanako wandered over from her tree. After a few minutes of mulling the idea over, she decided to help out with the work. Even though I had organized enough ingredients by this point to keep them running for nearly the rest of the day, it was still nice to be working with a familiar face. She didn't seem to mind it, either.

After another 15 minutes of sorting we took a break, sitting down next to the piles of ingredients. I smiled slightly as I watched all of the students working together. It was refreshing to see such selfless teamwork. It was something you didn't see every day.

We sat there in silence for the better part of an hour, watching Lilly tirelessly work the stand. Our efforts definitely had paid off, however, as she seemed far less stressed. The food was getting made quickly and delivered effortlessly to the hungry patrons.

It was quickly approaching lunch time when Lilly rejoined us, looking rather worn out. I called out to her, directing her over to us. "Having fun?" I asked, lying back on the grass.

"You try organizing and directing a noodle-stand by yourself and see how you like it." Lilly retorted playfully, lying back on the grass as well. Hanako giggled at our conversation before joining us on the grass.

I chuckled at her remark, sighing contently as I enjoyed the feeling of the sun on my skin.

We were content to simply lie there and enjoy the peace of the day for a few minutes. I felt my eyes drooping from the overwhelming warmth of the sun and the contrasting breeze. I took a deep breath, pulling myself away from the threat of sleep as I sat up, yawning a little. As much as I wanted to take a quick cat nap, I didn't want to risk any nightmares.

A glimmer on the other side of the festival caught my attention. "Oh, they've got the gaming stands up." I mumbled, smiling a little. I hadn't been to anything like that since I was a kid in America, enjoying the local carnival during the summer. Of course, all of the games had been rather rigged, but it was still fun to try.

My statement caught Hanako's attention, who sat up as well. I noticed the small smile on her lips. I wondered what game she wanted to try.

"Should we head over there now, or grab lunch first?" Lilly asked, sitting up along with us.

I mulled the proposal over, clicking my tongue. "How about lunch first?" I suggested, glancing down. The noodles had been good, but they weren't particularly filling. Hanako seemed to agree with my proposal, standing up.

"Very well." Lilly said, smiling as she followed suit. I was right behind her, pulling myself to my feet, stretching a little.

I spied a dango stand a few lanes away from Lilly's class. Moving in that direction, I took my place in line. Hanako followed suit, enjoying the thought of a stick or two of dango. Lilly took off elsewhere, guided by her apparently impressive sense of smell.

Ordering a few sticks of dango, I wandered away with my lunch. Hanako was right behind me, holding two sticks of dango, and a few pieces of pocky. Though I didn't enjoy the dango quite as much as the noodles from earlier, it was still quite good.

We found Lilly farther down, holding a paper bowl of teriyaki. We found a comfortable area near the gaming stands to finish our lunch, quietly chatting with one another. Hanako offered me one of her sticks of pocky, which I took hesitantly. I had never tried pocky before, surprisingly. After a few bites, I decided that I quite liked it.

After we finished our lunch, we meandered over to the gaming stands. They weren't all set up just yet, but the ones that were up seemed fun enough. The first one we visited entailed bouncing a ping pong ball off of a platform and attempting to land it in one of the plastic cups they had set up.

I set down 200 yen for six tries. Squinting, I took a deep breath, settling into a probably-stupid-looking stance as I bounced the first ball. I overshot it by a wide margin, nearly flinging the ping pong ball out of the stand. The next two tries were spent finding the right amount of force to put into the original bounce. The fourth shot almost hit one of the cups.

My fifth shot landed in one of the lower-worth cups, earning me a small bag of hard candies. I passed them onto Hanako and Lilly as I prepared my last shot. The big prize was only a bag of cotton candy, but I still rather wanted it. I took a deep breath and bounced the ball, grinning as it sank into the cotton candy cup. The stand manager gave me a bored-sounding 'congratulations' before handing me a bag of cotton candy that was hanging above. Grinning, I turned back to the girls.

I offered Lilly a taste, which she happily accepted, obviously a fan of the treat.

We spent several hours browsing through the gaming stands. Popping from stand to stand, we each tested our skill at the various challenges. Hanako had exceptionally precise aim, and was rather good at the ping-pong game from earlier. We ended up heading back there whenever we craved more cotton candy, at the expense of the frustrated stand manager.

I grinned as I found another game. It was more of a magic trick then a game, really. It was the game where a man would hide an object under one of three cups and then move them around. To my surprise, Lilly volunteered to play.

The man raised an eyebrow, but didn't argue. He took her 200 yen and set up the cups, placing a ping pong ball under one. In an impressive display of physical dexterity, he began moving the cups around. After several seconds, I lost track of the cup that the ball was under, much to my frustration. He stopped the cups, glancing at Lilly. The girl in question calmly pointed to the cup on the right, eliciting a gasp of surprise from Hanako as the cup was raised, revealing the ping pong ball.

Hot damn. Was Lilly's hearing really that good?

The man mumbled something about beginner's luck, offering Lilly a second go for half the price. She happily accepted, giggling softly. He repeated the action, and once again I lost track of the ball almost immediately.

Lilly jabbed her finger at the middle cup, causing the man's jaw to drop as it revealed the ball underneath once again. I whistled, very visibly impressed.

The man chuckled, before grabbing two pairs of oddly-designed glasses. He told us to use them later, during the fireworks. I hadn't even realized there would be fireworks. Naturally, Lilly passed her pair onto Hanako, giggling a little.

We continued like this for a while longer, before stumbling across one of the newer stands that hadn't been set up earlier. It was almost dark out now, so we had time for one or two more games before the fireworks began.

This stand was one of the pure throwing games. It featured a bunch of carefully-stacked bottles. The aim was to knock the top-most bottle. If you could do that, you got a choice of prizes.

The catch was made rather apparent as the stand manager presented what I'd be throwing. It was an air-light nerf ball. This was highway robbery. I saw Hanako's eyes on one of the prizes. It was a simple Raggedy Anne-style doll. I smiled, turning towards the manager as I put my money down. I spotted another prize. It was a purple cat doll. I didn't know if Lilly was much of a doll person, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try.

I was given three balls to use. Leaning back, I hurled my arm forward, shooting the first of my throws forward. The ball grazed the bottle, but was going fast enough to push it forward a little. One more would do it. My second ball successfully toppled the top bottle, earning me a wide grin. I chose the doll Hanako had been eyeing, offering it to her.

Hanako smiled widely, taking the doll in her arms as she hugged it gently, muttering a shy 'thank you' at the gesture. Lilly smiled softly, and made a move to leave.

I grabbed her arm gently, smiling. "Hey, where're you headed? I've still got another throw left." I said, grinning.

Lilly blinked, but didn't argue. She smiled gently as she realized my intentions.

The manager reset the bottle, signaling that I could throw. I took a deep breath, pulling back a little as I whipped my arm forward, sending the ball hurtling forward once more. To my enormous relief, the ball hit the bottle dead center, sending it toppling over the edge onto the floor of the stand.

I grinned, cheering internally as I pointed out the cat doll to the stand manager, who grabbed it for me, handing it to me. As we walked away, I handed the doll to Lilly, smiling. "I don't know if you're really into stuffed animals, but I thought I'd try." I said, scratching the back of my head sheepishly.

Lilly blushed, holding the doll delicately as she hugged it, smiling happily. "I love it. Thank you, Mac."

A startling flash of light and a loud crack interrupted my reply as we walked across a rather large field. My head jerked up, catching the end of a rather impressive firework. I hadn't realized it had gotten dark already.

We decided to sit on the field, lying down on the moderately chilled grass as we looked up. Lilly closed her eyes, listening to the booming sound of the display above. As the fireworks lit up the sky above us, I couldn't help but watch the colors flash brilliantly across Lilly's face. I blushed slightly, watching as she traced her fingers along the features of the doll I'd won her, a smile forming on her face.

I blinked, remembering what Lilly had won us earlier. "Oh, Hanako! The glasses!" I said, grinning. I hastily pulled mine out, putting them on as I watched Hanako do the same.

It appeared that the glasses fragmented light that passed through the lenses. It worked especially well on large, colorful bursts of light as I discovered seconds later. The firework's colors were accentuated beautifully through the glasses, the various shades becoming more pronounced.

The fireworks were over far too soon, unfortunately. Before we knew it, the sky darkened and remained as such, signaling the end of the show.

I stood up, helping the girls up as I yawned, stretching. It had already been quite the adventurous day. Hanako looked exhausted, teetering a little as her eyes drooped.

Lilly seemed to notice it to, placing a steadying hand on Hanako's shoulder. "Shall we head back?" she asked, seeming a little weary herself.

Hanako nodded sleepily, rubbing her eyes as she clung to Lilly. I smiled as I watched the two, walking just behind them. It was one of the most heart-warming things I'd ever seen.

We approached the girls' dorms shortly, and I gulped. I wonder if Lilly remembered her proposal from yesterday. My concerns were laid to rest as Lilly paused, noticing that I had stopped walking. "Are you coming, Mac?" she asked, tilting her head back towards me a little.

"A-ah, yeah. " I said, walking up to where she was standing.

Lilly led us into the dorms, which were thankfully void of any of their usual residents. She walked up to the third floor, before strolling about three quarters the way down the hallfway. Hanako pulled away from Lilly as that point, yawning cutely as she clung to the doll I'd won her. "I think I'm going to go to sleep, Lilly…" Hanako mumbled tiredly, yawning again.

Lilly nodded, giving Hanako a hug and a kiss on the forehead before allowing her to retreat to her room, bidding her goodnight. The younger girl smiled happily, waving at me before closing her door. Shortly afterwards, I heard her collapse on her bed.

Lilly giggled before opening the door to her dorm, walking inside. It finally clicked in my head that it would just be me… and Lilly… in her dorm… alone.

The girl in question interrupted my daydreaming as she popped her head out, talking quietly to me. "Could you give me just a moment, Mac? I need to change."

"Yeah, sure." I said, sighing wearily. The door closed shortly after that, allowing my mind to wander again.

It didn't take long for Lilly to change, and before long I heard her voice softly call from the other side of the door. "Alright. You can come in."

Opening the door, I tentatively stepped inside Lilly's dorm room. The first thing I noticed was that it was quite plain. Upon thinking on it, that made quite a lot of sense. She'd have no need for posters or decorations. There was a small table in the middle of the room that was currently housing a tea set, which Lilly was currently pouring.

Lilly was dressed in simple black and white sleeping attire which consisted of a modest top and a pair of matching silk shorts that barely went down her thighs. Despite myself, my eyes were instantly attracted to her legs.

I sat down next to her, closing the door behind her, sighing. I grunted, adjusting my position. It was extremely uncomfortable sitting on the ground with prosthetics. They clanked together noisily, causing me to sigh in annoyance.

"Are your legs bothering you?" Lilly asked as she pushed a cup of tea over to me.

"Not really, it's just awkward to sit like this with them on." I replied, taking a sip of the tea. I didn't know the brand, but it was surprisingly good. I'd have to try this more often.

Lilly smiled gently. "You're free to take them off, if you want." She said cautiously, waiting for my reaction.

I blinked, glancing down. "That'd be nice, actually. Are you sure you don't mind?" I questioned, already messing with the harnesses.

"Not at all." Lilly assured me, taking a sip of her tea.

I sighed happily as I set my legs aside. It was nice to be able to take them off after a long day and just relax.

There was a brief silence that occurred as we drank our tea.

"So. The festival is officially over." Lilly said simply, her face passive. I frowned, trying to unwrap the meaning behind her words. "I believe you have a promise to uphold." She finished, turning towards me.

It clicked in my mind as I verbally groaned. "I didn't realize you'd want that _right_ after the festival…" I muttered, sighing. However, she did have a point.

"I'm just looking out for you, Mac." She said, her features softening. "And ever since yesterday I've been quite concerned about you. Hanako says that you don't look like you're sleeping well, and yesterday's conversation with Hisao seems to support that." She finished, crossing her arms.

"I know…" I mumbled, sighing in frustration as I rubbed my temples. "Alright, alright. What all do you want me to talk about?" I snapped, perhaps a little harsher than was appropriate.

Lilly flinched a little, but recovered rapidly. "Let's start at the source of the problem. Tell me about your dreams." She replied, resting her hand on top of mine. I flinched slightly, but relaxed, blushing.

"It's… not particularly complex." I said, sighing. "I lost my legs in a car crash. And lately… I've just been having dreams that basically re-live the car crash." I said simply, desperately trying to sound nonchalant.

"But it's more than that." Lilly stated. "The first time I saw you have the nightmare, you said a name. I believe it was… Jiro?" she asked tentatively, glancing at me.

I didn't see any point trying to lie about it. "He was my friend." I said, my voice lowering.

Lilly bit her lip, taking my hand in hers gently as I continued.

"It… it was just before graduation." I muttered, shivering. "We were having some stupid party to celebrate, since we both knew we'd be graduating…" I muttered, my voice shaking. "Like usual, some idiot brought booze, and since it was unsupervised, naturally people got out of control."

The memories were coming back stronger than before, causing me to shake. "J-Jiro enjoyed drinking. I never approved, but he always liked to have a little to drink at these sorts of things." I said, my voice getting lighter. "This time I decided to have some as well. It wasn't much… b-but it was enough." I whispered, the memories violently forcing their way to my frontal lobe.

"Eventually, we left. I wanted to take the bus home, but Jiro didn't want to leave his car in that part of town." I was trembling severely now, my hand squeezing on Lilly's fingers gently. Her face was nervous, her teeth biting into her lip. "I… I knew he wasn't good to drive… but I let him get in anyways…" I whimpered, a single tear traveling down my cheek, the collective guilt of the incident finally slamming into me.

"W-we crashed at an intersection… a-and he d-didn't make it… b-because of me…" I was choking back sobs now, my face buried against my knees. Tears rolled freely down my cheeks. "It was my fault…" I mumbled, gasping slightly.

I stiffened as I felt Lilly shift, moving closer to me as she wrapped me in a gentle hug, cradling my head against the crook of her neck. "Shhh…" she whispered, her fingers lightly running through my hair. "It's not your fault, Mac… there was no way you could have known…" she whispered gently, comforting me.

It was an odd feeling, divulging this sort of information. All at once I felt a huge burden lift itself off of my shoulders, and I wrapped my arms around her gently, allowing the tears to fall down my face. Even though I disagreed with her, I didn't feel like arguing the point, content to simply lean against her.

"Th-thank you." I mumbled against her neck, finally managing to rein some control over myself. A shaky breath escaped my lips, and I felt her shudder from the feeling.

"You don't have to thank me for this." Lilly said solemnly, rubbing my shoulders gently. "You never have to thank me for this."

Taking in a deep breath, I moved away from her slowly, curling up against her wall.

"Feeling better?" she asked tenderly, looking as if she wanted to comfort me more.

"I guess it depends on how you mean." I answered shakily, glancing at her. "If you mean in regards to the fact that I just openly cried in front of a girl I barely know, then no, not particularly."

"There's no shame in that." She said somewhat sternly. "You were bottling up a massive emotional outburst. This was actually a rather tame reaction compared to what I was expecting."

I chuckled dryly, taking another deep breath.

After several minutes of silence, I shifted, placing a hand on my prosthetics. Lilly identified the noise immediately. "You're leaving?" she asked, looking somewhat hurt.

"It's almost curfew." I mumbled, double-checking with my watch; as convenient of an excuse as any.

Lilly looked put-out. "Why don't you stay for the night? I don't know if I feel comfortable with you being alone right now…" she mumbled. Had I been in a different mindset, I might have blushed at the suggestion.

"I'll be okay." I said, standing up. "I just need to sleep it off." I stretched a little, finally able to breath normally.

Lilly stood as well, frowning a little. I reached for the doorknob, opening the door a little as I felt her hand on my arm. I turned back to her, slightly confused. Lilly stood there, debating internally over something before steeling her nerve, closing her eyes. In a swift motion she moved close to me, planting a soft, brief kiss on my cheek.

"If I can't keep an eye on you through the night, then I'm at least going to give you something nice to think about." Lilly stated, a bright blush on her face.

I didn't have a response as I stood there, effectively dumbstruck. I managed to smile lightly, touching my cheek with my hand. "Thank you, Lilly." I said quietly. The three words seemed to be enough to put Lilly's worries to bed, and she smiled in relief.

"You're welcome, Mac." She said simply, effectively ending the conversation.

With that, I left her room, shutting the door behind me. What a night.

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**Wow! So, there you have it, guys. The end of chapter five. I wanted to pack two chapters worth of material into one, which is why this was somewhat late.**

**I hope you enjoyed it. As always, read and review.**


	7. Chapter 6: Another Year

**Chapter 6:**

**Hey guys. So, it's come to my attention that these chapters are going to get really, really repetitive, and really, really boring if I simply relay high school life. Given that, I've realized that this story won't be nearly as long as I'd originally intended. I simply can't create enough content to make a full year of high school interesting. That being said, my chapters are probably going to be rather spaced-out time-wise, and the story will probably end where Lilly's path generally ends. I would really like to break 100,000 words with this story, but we'll see if I'm able to get that far.**

* * *

It seemed like a lifetime ago that I'd confided in Lilly; told her the more intimate details of the car crash that took my legs. In reality, it had only been a few weeks, but it seemed so much longer.

We hadn't directly spoken about that night in particular since then. I didn't know if it was because we were embarrassed, or simply didn't feel the need to address it. Lilly carried on as normally as ever, showing no sign that our relationship had changed. Maybe it hadn't; or at least, not to her.

Life went on, however. The weeks of school had flown by without my knowledge, sweeping us into the later parts of May. It occurred to me, as I was staring at my calendar one evening, that my birthday was coming up. I'd finally be 18.

It surprised me to learn that I was one of the youngest kids in the school. Emi, Hisao and Lilly had all turned 18 earlier in the year. Even Shizune and Misha were older than me, even if Shizune had only celebrated her birthday right after the festival. Only Hanako was younger than me, and not by much. Lilly had said that Hanako's birthday was coming up in July. She seemed oddly… somber about that fact, though she didn't elaborate on why.

Emi and Hisao had taken to hanging out with us more and more often in the last month. Though they didn't join us for lunch, we would often hang out after school, or whenever we'd go into town. I didn't know when, but somewhere in the last month Hisao and Emi had started dating. They were subtle about it; clearly not ready to tell us about it, yet. However, Emi had a habit of making late-night visits to Hisao's room, and just as Hisao had been able to hear the noises _I_ made at night, I was unfortunately able to hear theirs. And last night, she hadn't left like she normally did.

My eyes opened groggily as they twitched towards the wall that separated Hisao's room and mine. The sound was barely audible, but there was definitely a tell-tale squeaking coming through, as well as hushed voices.

I grinned. Normally I would ignore it altogether, but today I was feeling like a particular pain in the ass. It _was_ my birthday after all. I think I deserved a little harmless fun.

I got up and got dressed and put on my legs as quietly as I could. Slipping out into the hallway, I pressed my ear against Hisao's door. Oh yeah, they were in there.

Taking a deep breath, I cleared my throat and knocked loudly on the door. "Open up!" I said, in as deep and authoritative of a voice as I could manage. "Campus security! We got a report of prohibited activity from this hall!"

I stifled my laughter as I heard one of them hit the floor, hard. A flurry of cussing followed, and a lot of shuffling came through the door. Down the hall, I idly grinned as I heard Kenji lock the extra locks on his door. I guess I was better at impersonating than I thought. I heard Hisao's closet door open and then quickly shut. I pounded on the door again for good measure.

The lock clicked on the other side and the door opened a crack, revealing Hisao's disheveled face. Looking at the wrinkles on every article of clothing he was wearing, it would appear that he'd just thrown those on.

"Good morning." I said cheerfully, trying to contain my laughter.

"Oh, you are such an asshole." Hisao said, genuinely pissed.

I scoffed, cracking a little as a chuckle escaped my lips. "Me? Naw. You've got me mistaken for somebody else." I retorted, grinning. "I was just checking up on you, man. I heard some noises coming from in there. Wanted to make sure you weren't uh, having any nightmares." I said, smirking.

Farther inside the room I heard Hisao's closet open, and sure enough, Emi's head popped around the corner, frowning.

"Oh, my. How scandalous." I muttered, pretending to be shocked.

Emi glared at me with all of the burning hatred of a thousand stars. "Oh, I'm going to kick your ass." She grumbled, reaching for her clothes.

The door slammed in my face shortly afterwards, causing me to bust out laughing.

Hisao and I had developed a very interesting relationship through Emi. Though I didn't know that 'friend' was the right word for it, we definitely got along well enough. Or at least, we got along well enough when we weren't teasing each other about girls we were hanging out with; and even then it was playful jabbing at best.

I chuckled to myself as I walked back into my room, getting ready for the day. Shortly after I returned to my room I heard Emi quietly slip out of Hisao's. I felt a tiny bit guilty about ruining their quality time, but I quickly got over it. It was payback.

It was Saturday again today. Arguably, Saturday was my favorite day of the week. While I still had classes for the first part of the day, the lunch break that followed was always the best period to spend time with Lilly and Hanako. It allowed us to meet up in our usual spot, and then take as long as we wanted. Sunday was fine as well, but generally Lilly and Hanako were busier on Sundays.

I breathed in deeply as I walked out of the dorm building. It was turning out to be another nice day. The sky was already a deep blue color, and it wasn't nearly as cold as I'd thought.

It was still somewhat early, I wandered the grounds a little. As I passed the track, I was mildly surprised to see that Hisao and Emi weren't running this morning. Maybe they felt they'd already gotten enough exercise for the day. I chuckled at the thought.

As I'd promised with the nurse, I made my daily trip to his office. It was quiet in the nurse's building as I walked through the halls. My walking had greatly improved in the weeks since the festival. I no longer required a cane for the average-speed walking, though running was still a bit of a challenge for me. I tended to stumble whenever I started slowing down from a sprint.

I popped my head in the nurse's office, knocking on the doorframe. As usual, his face peered around the corner, looking somewhat hopeful. As he spied me, his enthusiasm lapsed.

"Expecting someone else?" I asked as I walked in, sitting down in my usual chair.

He chuckled, grabbing my clipboard as he walked over. "As a matter of fact, I was." He said, writing something down. "Emi's been avoiding me lately, and it's starting to make me antsy."

That got my attention. "She's been avoiding you?" I questioned as I took off my legs. "That's not like her…"

He smiled, glancing at my legs for a moment. "It's more like her than you know. She tends to avoid me whenever something's going in with her legs." He finished, examining my old scars.

"Huh. Well I saw her just this-" I cut myself off, twitching as I realized that I'd almost made a serious blunder. "this past Thursday." I corrected, trying to smooth over my mistake. "She uh, didn't seem to show any problems with her legs."

The nurse nodded. I wasn't sure if he'd picked up on my blunder. "That's a lot like her. She doesn't let things like that show easily." He mentioned, gesturing at me to put my legs back on. "However, if you do see her today, could you try and persuade her to come see me?" he asked, looking at me.

I blinked, but nodded immediately. "Of course. I've got English with her, so I'll talk to her then." I stated, standing up and stretching.

The nurse's face made an odd expression before he grinned. I was instantly on my guard. "Was Emi at school yesterday?" he asked. I let out an internal sigh of relief. So it was still just about Emi's legs.

"Yeah, she was." I replied, before my blood chilled with a sudden realization.

"So, if you saw her yesterday, why did you say that you'd seen her this past Thursday before?" he asked, a vaguely dangerous expression on his face.

I gaped, slowly backing out of the doorway. "It just slipped my mind, you know. But uh, I really must be going; classes and what-not." I stammered, turning around and speed-walking down the hallway. I could hear the nurse's chuckling echo through the halls. I'd almost gotten either myself or Hisao into some serious trouble with the nurse. Sometimes, I really hated how everyone knew each other here.

Sighing, I shook my head and grabbed my breakfast. Moving up to the second floor, I raised an eyebrow as I saw that the tea room's door was shut. This was the first time in nearly two months that I'd ever seen the door shut. I tried the handle, but frowned as I realized it was locked. My ears twitched as I thought I heard the sound of hushed voices inside.

I groaned. Someone must be using it this morning. Hopefully this doesn't become a habit. I rather liked my little eating area.

With that, I shambled back towards class. Luckily it was a breakfast small enough to finish quickly, so it was gone before I reached my homeroom. Enki was waiting outside the door. He smiled at me as I slipped into the classroom. "_Happy Birthday, Mac._" He said in English, giving me a grin.

I blinked, mildly surprised that he would know that. "_You know it's my birthday?" _I asked, frowning.

Enki chuckled, nodding. "_We're encouraged to get to know our students here at Yamaku. Birthdays are no exception."_

I nodded. It made sense, at any rate.

The class was still empty as I sat down, setting my books on my desk. It began filling up rapidly after I came in, as the beginning of class was only a few minutes away. Towards the end of the stream I saw Emi walk in. Now that I was paying attention, I did notice that she was favoring her left leg slightly. Did she get hurt?

She gave me a look that seemed torn between anxiety and annoyance, but sat down quickly enough.

I chuckled. "Aww. Not still embarrassed about earlier, are you?" I asked, teasing her.

She stuck her tongue out. "You're just jealous!" she chirped, giggling.

"Pfffft. Me? Jealous of you?" I asked, grinning. "Hisao's great, but I don't know that he's really my type." I chuckled, winking.

Emi punched my arm playfully, giggling. "Oh, shush. And no, obviously you're jealous of Hisao!" she declared, puffing out her chest proudly. "I'm quite the catch after all…" she trailed off, a thought coming to her eyes. "… or are you more into tall blondes?" she asked, her lips twisting into a grin.

I snorted at her, grinning. "Lilly and I are just friends. Really." I said, perhaps a little too defensively.

Emi rolled her eyes in a manner that clearly suggested that she didn't believe a word of what I was saying. Which was fair, considering that I didn't, either. While I wasn't totally sure where Lilly and I stood in regards to each other, it's fair to say that 'just friends' didn't quite cover it.

The pig-tailed girl seemed to let the conversation drop, giving me an opportunity to question her about something else.

"So, the nurse tells me that you haven't been to see him in a while." I said, choosing my words carefully.

Emi looked somewhat alarmed, glancing at me. I watched her legs shuffle somewhat, getting pulled under her desk and out of my sight. "I haven't had time." She said, putting on a blank face. "Running's been eating up all of my time lately."

"You weren't running this morning." I pointed out, watching her reaction.

Her eyes widened a bit, and she bit her lip. "Ah, well, that was something else." She said, shrugging it off.

I sighed. Obviously I wasn't going to get anything out of her about this. "Look, you know he's only looking out for you. If something's up, you should definitely talk to him." I said, looking at her. "You don't have to tell me what it is, and we don't even have to have this conversation again if you at least promise me that you'll go see him." I finished, holding my hand out in a motion to shake on it.

Emi glanced at my hand and then at me before frowning and turning away. She quickly began pulling out her work for the day as well as her text book.

I retracted my arm, sighing. Whatever this was, she was going to be difficult about it. I might have to ask Hisao about it later. He'd probably know what was up better than I do.

The bell rang shortly after, prompting Enki to close the door and start up class for the day. I didn't have a chance to bring up the topic again for the rest of the day.

By the time classes got out for lunch, I'd come to the conclusion that it was probably better to not pester Emi about it too much. If there was one thing I'd learned about her, it was that she was stubborn about certain things. Getting help with her problems was one of those things. If I bugged her too much about it, I could unintentionally cause her to push herself farther away from help.

That being said, I was very hungry. The light breakfast from this morning hadn't lasted me very far through the day, and I was eager to grab lunch and see if the tea room was no longer being used.

_That_ being said, I was not pleased to find Misha and Shizune waiting for me outside my class.

"There you are!" came the three words I did not want to hear from Misha at the moment. "You sure took your time getting out of class! Hahaha~!" she said, crossing her arms as she giggled. Shizune looked impatient.

"I'm going to get food right now. We can do student council stuff later." I said, my tone implying that I really wasn't in the mood for this.

Nevertheless, Misha and Shizune both grabbed one of my arms, dragging me in the opposite direction of the cafeteria. "This isn't for the student council!" Misha giggled, bouncing as she dragged me.

I groaned, walking slightly behind them as they towed me forward. I idly thought what possible reason they could have for dragging me in this direction, but I came up with nothing. We ascended to the second floor, which caught my attention. They'd never brought me here before…

We went clear down to the end of the hallway, stopping in front of the tea room, to my immense surprise.

"What…" I started, but Misha cut me off, rapping on the door three times, loudly. Then it clicked. "Hey, you guys were the ones that were using this room this morning, weren't you?" I asked, scowling. "What, is this some new lair for the student council now?" I continued, frowning as someone from the inside unlocked the door and opened it. "This better not be some deranged revenge towards Lilly, Shizune." I finished, trying to look inside the room.

A light giggle from inside the room reached my ears, as well as a soft-voiced reply. "For once, this isn't a scheme of our dear President, Mac."

I recognized the voice immediately, as well as the faces of the others inside the room. As I stepped inside, I saw instantly that the room had been vibrantly decorated. Streamers went from wall to wall, framing a large paper banner that read, 'Happy Birthday Mac' across it in big, pink letters. I could only assume the banner was Misha's handiwork.

Seated around the tables that had been arranged in the center were Lilly, Hanako, Hisao, and Emi. A fair sized cake sat in the center of the tables, and a rather large card rested next to it. I could vaguely make out everyone's various signatures.

"Happy Birthday~!" Misha yelled, bouncing and giggling.

"Aww… guys…" I muttered, smiling. "You really didn't have to do this…"

Shizune stepped in my line of sight, signing at me, despite the fact that I couldn't read any of it. "We didn't have to, but you helped Misha organize my party earlier in the month, so I wanted to repay the favor." Misha translated, giggling.

"Hey! We helped too!" Emi yelled, grinning. She gave me a somewhat nervous wave, clearly still apprehensive from earlier. Hisao gave me a small wave and a nod, smiling at me.

"Yes, but _I_ was the one that found out when his birthday was." Misha retorted, obviously translating for Shizune. Emi just stuck her tongue out in response, giggling.

I smiled at the two, chuckling as I took the only empty seat. Unsurprisingly, Shizune had arranged it to be right next to Lilly. "Thank you, guys." I said, smiling at everyone. "This is amazing, it really is." My stomach chose that moment to growl, and my eyes wandered over to the cake. Lilly giggled at the sound.

"Well, if we're not going to do anything stupid like sing a ridiculous song at my expense, then I suggest we start eating." I declared, grinning. Was it the healthiest lunch? No. Did I really care? Not one bit.

I was greeted all around with nods and affirmations. Evidently nobody else had eaten yet, either; which was good, because I always felt weird when people watched me eat.

We dug into the cake hastily, eager to sate our angry stomachs. They'd decided to go with a relatively safe choice of chocolate cake, which I did not mind at all. It was a little rich, but other than that it wasn't too bad.

I sat back, sighing contently as I finished my cake, though I did feel a tiny bit bloated.

Lilly giggled beside me. "Did you enjoy the cake?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Oh, yeah. That was quite good." I mumbled, yawning a little.

Lilly smiled, and Hanako gave a satisfied nod. "Oh, good. Hanako and I picked it out for you." She said.

I smiled back at them, sighing again. "Well, you two did a fantastic job. I honestly wasn't expecting this at all." I muttered, looking around. Everyone was caught up in their own conversations, but they all looked to be enjoying themselves.

"It was Hanako's idea, actually." Lilly stated, making me raise an eyebrow. "She brought it up a few days after the festival, and I asked Shizune to inquire about when your birthday was." She finished.

"Aww…." I said, giving Hanako a broad smile. "Well, thank you, Hanako. It means a lot."

Hanako smiled back, giving a shy giggle as her face turned a little red.

Emi and Hisao abruptly stood up, catching our attention. "We're gonna head out." Hisao said simply, turning to me. "Happy Birthday, Mac." He finished, smiling. He still looked a little sore from this morning, but seemed to be over it.

"We'll talk to you guys later! Thanks for inviting us!" Emi chirped, pulling Hisao out the door. She had a… questionable look on her face.

Misha and Shizune stayed a while longer, but eventually left as well, waving goodbye to us. Lilly assured them that we'd clean up the room, so they could leave early and get back to work. I crinkled my nose at the thought of working on a Saturday afternoon.

Thankfully, the party on the whole was a brief and low-key event. I appreciated the effort they'd put into it, but was infinitely more appreciative of the fact that they hadn't made _too_ big of a deal out of it.

The remaining three of us chatted a while longer and finished off the cake. After that, Hanako suggested that we get out the chessboards.

Now, I'm not a particularly stellar chess player. I'm logical enough to play in the now, but seeing into the future moves of my opponent was never a talent I'd possessed. Sure, you could guess that if you left your Queen open he or she would make a move to take it, but beyond that, it was based too much on guesswork for me to ever truly put much stock in it.

That being said, Hanako was much better at it than I was. I'd often watched her and Lilly play, and Hanako was a fairly adept chess player.

I played a few rounds against both Hanako and Lilly as the hours passed. Even when I genuinely tried my best, I could never beat Hanako. I came close a few times, but beating her was a ways beyond my skill. Thankfully, Hanako was a very graceful winner. I admit that I let Lilly win most of our rounds as well. The skill difference between myself and Lilly was substantially smaller than myself and Hanako, so generally my losing wasn't that hard to fake.

The sun was beginning to set as we finally packed up the gaming boards. It didn't take us long after that to tidy up the room, as well; though the trashcans looked a little overstuffed.

"Oh!" Lilly exclaimed suddenly as we were getting ready to head out the door. "I almost forgot to ask." She said, turning in my general direction. "Would you be willing to come to my dorm tonight and share some tea with Hanako and I, Mac?" she asked, smiling.

I blinked. It was the first time since she kissed me that she'd invited me back. "Oh, sure." I said, nodding. Hanako and Lilly both brightened at my reply.

With that, we left the classroom. I did one sweeping look to make sure that everything was put back in order, and then followed Lilly out the door, smiling to myself.

The walk to the girls' dorms was slow and peaceful. Neither Lilly nor Hanako seemed to be in a huge rush to get there, and neither was I. It was still warm out, despite the rapidly setting sun, and I was enjoying the contrasting breeze that rustled the leaves above our heads.

Lilly moved back just a little, walking beside me as she wrapped her arm around mine. It had become almost normal for her to do this now, so I thought nothing of it. I rather liked it, in fact. Though I doubt Lilly liked the idea of being dependent on anyone for anything, I did like the idea of being dependable. It was nice, having someone rely on you, even for the smallest of things. It helped give me a sense of purpose when I was around Lilly. A lot of the time I just felt like a third wheel between her and Hanako. I sometimes wondered if that's why she did it at all; to make me feel included. It would certainly fit her motherly personality, at any rate.

Hanako skipped happily ahead, and before I knew it, I was being snapped out of my musings by Lilly, who pulled away from me to unlock her door.

As before, she told me to wait outside a moment so that she could get changed. Hanako followed suit and skipped to her room, dashing inside. Hanako took considerably less time to get changed, and she came wandering back into the hallway within a few short minutes. She was dressed in a light-pink nightgown, and it appeared that she was rather embarrassed that I could see her like that. I almost felt bad for being here.

Before long, Lilly gave the verbal command for us to come in. Hanako went in first, clearly uneasy about standing outside in such a revealing outfit. I followed her in, noting that Lilly was in her usual evening attire, currently sipping on a cup of warm tea. Hanako took a seat next to Lilly, and I sat across from her, once again shifting uncomfortable due to my prosthetics.

"Hanako, do you mind if Mac takes off his prosthetics?" Lilly asked, practically reading my mind.

Hanako blushed at the question, shifting a little as she glanced at me, clearly pondering the question."O-okay…" she said, before grinning uncharacteristically. "So long as h-he keeps his shirt on…"

Her added remark caught both me and Lilly so off-guard that we sat there looking at her with a dumbstruck expression. Eventually, the humor of it hit me and I cracked up laughing, causing her to blush heavily.

Chuckling, I pulled off my legs, setting them on the floor next to me as I sighed. "I promise my shirt'll be staying on." I said, grinning. Apparently Lilly had been just as surprised by Hanako's brazen joke as I had been. It was good to see that Hanako was growing more comfortable around me. I hated making her feel out of her safety zone.

Lilly poured me a cup of tea, which I thanked her for. I'd grown accustomed to drinking tea since I'd started hanging out with Lilly and Hanako. I secretly had the suspicion that Lilly wanted to wean me off of coffee. Considering the amount I drank, I could hardly blame her.

Taking a sip of the tea, I leaned back and sighed. It was extremely peaceful in Lilly's room for whatever reason. Maybe it was the gentle atmosphere combined with the light sounds of Lilly and Hanako drinking tea. Whatever the reason, it was an incredibly relaxing feeling.

Lilly broke the silence again. "I figured you might appreciate a quiet evening after the party." She mentioned, taking a sip of tea. "I thought all of us might, actually." She amended, nodding.

"Mmh." I acknowledged, closing my eyes. "It's very nice. I enjoyed the party, but I have to admit that I'm fonder of secluded gatherings. Misha and Shizune are just a little too intense for me." I said, chuckling.

"You seem tired." Lilly said, smiling gently. "Have you been sleeping alright?"

I nodded, cracking an eye as I yawned. "I've been sleeping fine. Don't worry. I just got woken up early this morning by Hisao and Emi." I muttered without really thinking about it. Ah, damn.

Hanako raised an eyebrow, and Lilly made a noise. "Oh my." Lilly said, giggling. "I didn't know they were… quite that close." She finished, drinking the last of her tea.

I shrugged internally at my blunder. It was out in the open now. "Yeah, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't bring it up. They want to keep it secret for whatever reason, and I see no reason to pressure them about it." I yawned again, louder this time as I got more comfortable.

"Of course." Lilly said, nodding.

The conversation ended abruptly again; Lilly seemed content to simply sit in silence along with Hanako. I didn't mind at all, to be honest. My brain wasn't functioning at peak capacity anyways, and I didn't want to come off as rude with any of my sleep-deprived grumbling.

I didn't know how long I sat there, leaning against Lilly's wall. It could have been 5 minutes, it could have been an hour. Eventually, however, my body's need to sleep overcame any inhibitions I had towards it. I felt my consciousness slip away as I was pulled into a deep sleep.

* * *

My eyes opened groggily as I was pulled back into the land of consciousness. The first thing I realized was the terrible pain in my back and neck, courtesy of the fact that I'd fallen asleep sitting up against a wall. It took me a minute to remember what happened, and I cussed internally, realizing that I'd fallen asleep in Lilly's room. It was pitch black in here now, and I couldn't see a thing. There were obviously no clocks in the room, and my watch wasn't digital, however I could infer that it must still be rather early.

The next thing I noticed was the weight against my shoulder, and the comforting warmth that weight was providing. A soft, steady breathing came from whoever was sleeping against my shoulder. Given the fact that their head was resting against mine, it was fair to say that it was Lilly. Hanako simply wasn't that tall, and this would be wildly out of character for her.

I temporarily halted my thought process on the matter in favor of rolling my neck, popping it. A loud crack echoed through the room as whatever had been knocked loose in my neck pushed itself back into place.

I felt Lilly stir from the noise, the weight on my shoulder shifting a bit. Her breathing slowed to a stop for a moment, before she spoke. "Mac?" she asked tentatively.

"Mmh?" I responded, yawning. I was still far too tired to form a coherent response.

"You… you were having a nightmare earlier." Lilly said. I felt her weight shift a little. She was clearly gauging my reaction to waking up like this.

"Was I?" I asked, closing my eyes again. "I don't remember it…" I trailed off, sighing contently. Lilly did this of her own accord, and I certainly wasn't going to argue it; though I certainly was skeptical of her statement. I usually remembered my nightmares, as far as I knew, anyways.

Lilly laid her head back down on my shoulder, letting out a breath. "Do you mind?" she asked cautiously.

"Not at all." I replied, smiling. "Though I would like to get some more sleep." I finished, yawning loudly. It could be assumed that it was past curfew, anyways. There was no point getting antsy about it.

Lilly sighed in relief, taking a deep breath as she relaxed again. I did the same, leaning heavily against the wall as I let my head droop against Lilly's, gently. While the place on the floor wasn't particularly comfortable, I could live with it for this moment of comfort.

It wasn't long before I got pulled back into the depths of unconsciousness once more.

* * *

**Oh, man. This chapter was a real pain to get through. I put this off for days because I simply couldn't build up the motivation to write it. The vast majority of it was done today, and simply because I crammed to get it all out.**

**Next chapter will be skipping straight into June, and I'll be introducing Akira either next chapter, or the one immediately after.**

**As always, read and review.**


	8. Chapter 7: Antiques and Carpentry

**Chapter 7: Antiques and Carpentry**

**Well, here we are again. This is Chapter 7 of Katawa Shoujo, and I've decided that this will be the chapter where I introduce Akira.**

* * *

I yawned as I drearily looked out the window of the tea room. It was Saturday again. Meaning that my classes for the day were officially over, and I was free to relax. It was June, now. June 21st, to be exact. The bright glare of summer assaulted my eyes through the windows.

It had been almost a month since I'd fallen asleep in Lilly's dorm. I woke up before she had later in the morning, discovering that she'd moved back to her bed some time during the night. I could hardly blame her, at any rate; I'd had a sore neck for days after that.

After that, I'd expected there to be some change in our relationship. However, Lilly seemed quite content to not change anything at all. It's not that I really minded, I was just surprised that she had no desire to go any farther.

I'd shrugged it off, in the end. It was entirely possible that Lilly was only looking for an intimate platonic relationship. If that was the case, I'd be happy to oblige. Despite my urge to have something more, I couldn't deny that the intimacy of our relationship filled a void in my life that had been there for a very long time. I never knew what it was like to have a friend like this; a friend that you could confide in and talk to, and take comfort in when you were lonely. I'd had many friends before, but nothing quite like that.

My mulling was cut short as I heard a shuffling in the doorway of the tea room. Lilly and Hanako had both had things to do during lunch today, so I was quite surprised that someone was here.

I was even more surprised that it was Hisao who stumbled through the doorway, looking exhausted.

"Oh, hey." I said, my eyebrows raising a little. "What's up?"

Hisao sat down across from me with an exasperated sigh, leaning back in his chair as he stared at the ceiling. "Do you know what's going on with Emi?" he asked, rather plainly.

I blinked in surprise. I'd expected this conversation to happen for the last couple of weeks, but it still took me by surprise. Despite her bullheadedness, Emi was having trouble with something, and it was showing. I didn't even hang out with her as much as I used to and I could still plainly see it. She was limping more and more each day, and she hadn't been to the nurse in over a month.

"Can't say that I do, no." I replied, yawning. Hisao clearly wanted to get something off of his chest. I might as well let him.

"She's just been acting weird lately." He said, sighing. "She's clearly in pain when she runs, and the nurse tells me she hasn't been coming by." He continued, looking out the window.

"Mmh." I replied, simply. "She's certainly stubborn, I'll give her that." I responded lightly, yawning. "Have you asked her about it?"

Hisao nodded, making a face. "Last night I did, actually. She got… really impatient with me all of a sudden, and she didn't show up to run this morning."

I frowned. "Come to think of it, she wasn't in class today, either." I replied, tapping my chin. Now that I began piecing this all together, it was actually becoming vaguely worrying. I had first-hand experience with leg infections and how much damage they could do, even as a minor infection. If Emi has had an infection all this time… I shuddered at the thought.

Hisao sighed, rubbing his temples. "What a nightmare. I've gotta figure out what's going on with her."

I nodded in agreement, losing myself in thought for a second. Emi was incredibly stubborn when it came to topics like this. If Hisao pushed her too much, he could very well drive her away. I didn't want to say it, but it felt like he was walking on very thin ice with this issue. In the end, it was his decision to make, though. Hell, he could very well know Emi better than I do at this point, so maybe I'm wrong in all this. It was hard to say for sure.

"Have you been to the nurse about it?" I asked, glancing at him.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "The nurse? No I haven't… but I suppose I should. Has he said anything to you about it?"

"Just that she hasn't been to him in a significant amount of time." I replied, yawning. " But, he might have been holding back. I'd talk to him first before you confront Emi about it." I said, attempting to persuade him.

He seemed to like that idea better anyways, and nodded at me. "Yeah, I think I'll do that… I just dropped by here to see if you knew anything."

I kind of figured as much. "Hopefully you get it sorted out, man." I said, glancing at him. "Just… you know, be patient about it." I finished.

Hisao sighed heavily, standing up as he began walking towards the door. "Well, when Emi's involved, your only choice is usually to be patient." He deadpanned. He strolled through the doorway, not looking much less annoyed than when he came in.

I chuckled to myself, glancing back out the window. I wondered if he actually expected to get any answers out of me about it. If he had, then he sorely overestimated my influence over Emi.

I spent another half hour or so in the tea room, left to my own devices. I was certainly curious as to why Lilly and Hanako weren't here, but I also didn't mind the time to myself. It gave me a much-needed opportunity to sort out my life. The last few months had been rolling by faster than I could process them, and they'd successfully turned my life upside down. My newfound relationships were a blatant example of this. Both Hanako and Lilly were closer to me than I'd been with anyone else.

"Mac?" came Lilly's distinct voice from behind me.

"Gah!" I yelled, jumping as I nearly fell out of my chair. I hadn't even heard her come in the room. I clung to the table in front of me, heart pounding as I turned around.

Lilly looked like she was desperately trying to hold in a giggle. "Are you okay, Mac?" she asked, though giggles were still bubbling through her lips.

I coughed, blushing a little as I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. "Fine, fine." I said, chuckling. "Just didn't expect to see anyone else in here today."

Lilly smiled, but didn't sit down like she normally did. "Well, I had a bit of business to attend to, and Hanako has work to catch up on again." She said, giggling. "I was actually wondering if I could ask something of you."

"Yeah, of course." I replied, tilting my head.

Lilly lowered her voice cautiously, as if expecting someone to be eavesdropping. "I'm going birthday shopping for Hanako today, and I was hoping that you'd come with." She whispered, smiling.

Oh, right! Shamefully, I realized that I'd totally forgotten about Hanako's upcoming birthday, which was embarrassing considering the thought she'd put into mine. "Oh!" I exclaimed, making her flinch a little. I lowered my voice quickly. "I completely forgot about her birthday!" I said, groaning. "I haven't thought of anything to get her…"

Lilly giggled, beckoning me to stand up. "Well, I don't know that she'll be expecting a present, since we didn't give you one." She said.

Well, I suppose it depended on how you defined a present. "Well, even still. You guys organized that great party for me." I stated. "I know Hanako sort of well, so I should at least try and get her something." I finished, pushing myself to my feet.

"You can think on the way!" Lilly said, ushering me forward. "The bus is going to be here soon, and I'd prefer not to miss it!"

I blinked, moving to follow her as I stretched. "The bus? We're not going into town?" I questioned, puzzled.

Lilly grinned suddenly. "That's right, you haven't been into the city yet, have you?" she asked, turning back towards me. "It's a fair distance away, so walking is fairly impossible. I don't think the town would have the gift I'm looking for." She admitted, striding forward.

I had in fact not been to the city yet, though the idea intrigued me. It had been quite a long time since I'd been to a _real_ city, so the prospect was somewhat motivating. The walk to the bus stop in question was not particularly lengthy, and thankfully we arrived just minutes before the bus actually arrived, despite my poor navigational skills.

I'd never been a huge fan of public transportation, but this bus seemed to be fairly clean, and catered to a seemingly-normal host of passengers. They even seemed to be rather accustomed to Yamaku students, as they didn't look twice at Lilly's eyes, nor her arm wrapped around mine. Thankfully, due to my preference of long pants even after my surgery, my prosthetics were largely unnoticed.

The bus ride itself was longer than I'd expected. It took us nearly half an hour to get to the city, and Lilly even has a specific stop in mind. I was continuously amazed at just how impressive her memory was.

She stood up abruptly as the bus stopped and smiled at me, pulling me up. I followed obediently, taking a look around the area we'd stopped in. It certainly wasn't the busiest part of the city by far, but it was still a largely-trafficked area. Judging from the small buildings and advertisements, it seemed to be a district that catered largely to smaller businesses and craftsmen. From bookstores to sculpting centers, there were buildings littering the streets.

"So, what exactly did you have in mind for Hanako?" I asked, looking around us. There was a great deal of choices.

"Mmmh… " Lilly pondered, thinking. "Something simple, but personal. Something she'd like." She mumbled, sighing.

"How about a book?" I suggested, tossing out an idea.

Lilly shook her head. "I'd thought of that, but Hanako reads so often that knowing which books she hasn't read is guess work at best, and I don't want to leave this up to chance." She grumbled.

"Umm… I know that Hanako likes working with computers. Does the like gaming or…?" I said, taking another shot in the dark.

Lilly giggled at my suggestions, shaking her head again. "Even if she did, computers and technology are so vastly complicated that I wouldn't know where to begin." She said, sighing. "I gave her a doll for her last birthday. It was a handcrafted piece that I picked up while I was traveling." She mentioned, tapping her chin. "If you see anything like that, let me know."

Hmm. A doll, huh? Well, there were stores for that in Japan… but I didn't know this city at all, so finding one would be a long-shot at best. In all likelihood, our best bet would be either one of the craftsman stores, or something like an antique store.

Lilly pulled me along through the streets that she had memorized, and so we began our search. It was a shame that books were out of the question, because there were tons of stores catering to exactly that form of entertainment. At least every other street we went down had a bookstore or comic store on it somewhere. Lilly continued pestering me to explain what I saw to her, just in case I overlooked something. It wasn't an unfair request, but to repeat the same thing over and over got boring quickly.

"I don't suppose Hanako likes knitting, does she?" I joked as we passed a building that sold knitting supplies. Lilly giggled and shook her head, holding on to my arm. "Hmm…" I muttered, glancing around. "This is harder than I'd imagined."

I caught sight of something out of the corner of my eye as we entered a plaza-like area. It seemed to be almost like an American food court. Many food-based businesses had little stands and setups centered around a gathering plaza with benches and shaded seating areas for visitors to the city. It was rather warm out today, and one of the stands was selling ice cream. Since we'd been at this for a little while, I decided that we'd earned ourselves a treat.

Taking charge of the voyage, I pulled Lilly to the Plaza area quickly, eliciting a surprised gasp. I found a nice, shaded area near a couple of trees and gently sat her down, smiling. "I'm going to be right back, okay?" I asked, grinning. "Don't move. It's a surprise." I added in at the end.

Lilly questionably raised an eyebrow, but only shook her head, smiling.

I dashed off to the ice cream stand, which thankfully wasn't serving anyone currently. Walking up to the counter, I ordered two French vanilla ice cream cones. Glancing back, I watched Lilly sit happily in the shade, tilting gently from side to side in the breeze, smiling. I couldn't help but smile at the scene. I quickly paid the man for the ice cream and started walking back, balancing the ice cream cones.

"I'm back." I said simply, pressing her ice cream cone against the palm of her hand. Lilly jumped a little, her fingers wrapping around the cone, a slightly puzzled look on her face. Deciding to not spoil the surprise, I turned to my ice cream, smiling.

Lilly's forefinger touched the base of the ice cream before recoiling. "Ice cream?" she asked, smiling at me.

"Mmhmm. I kinda took a stab in the dark in terms of flavor, though." I replied, grinning.

Lilly took a tentative taste, before smiling. "A stab in the dark, but a well-judged stab in the dark." She said, easing my worries. "I like French vanilla."

I gave an internal sigh of relief, leaning back against a tree as I smiled. "It's nice here." I said off-handedly. "I didn't expect there to be such a peaceful area in a city like this."

Lilly nodded, closing her eyes. "This is a very popular area of the city for students like us, considering most of what we're looking for can be found around here." She finished, tasting more of her ice cream.

"Yeah… there's a pretty broad selection around here." I mentioned, glancing around. My eyes briefly passed over a carpenter's shop. I could see a wide variety of wood carvings put up on displays, obviously hand made. It was quite impressive.

"Hey." Lilly said, grabbing my attention.

"Huh?" I asked, turning around. She was holding up two cards, and each card had a set of braille cells on them.

This was a game we'd picked up over the last month. Shortly after my birthday I'd come to Lilly with questions about braille. It wasn't that I particularly wanted to learn to read braille, but rather how to 'write' it. Lilly was rather surprised, but didn't object to the request. Since then, she'd introduced me to the braille alphabet, as well as the common phrases and punctuation and such. Braille was surprisingly simple, even if it took a great deal of time to read. It also wasn't that difficult to write in. Rather than raised dots, I'd simply poke holes in the paper I was writing on.

Of course, I wasn't blind, so I could just read the uplifted dots instead of feel for them. This made learning the language considerably more efficient. The game in question was simple. One of the cards would have an English word written in braille, and the other would have a Japanese word. I would pick out the English word.

"Left." I said simply, smiling. It was getting easier and easier to respond quickly.

Lilly pouted, sticking her tongue out. "And you don't even have to touch them. I should consider that cheating." She teased, waving the cards playfully.

I chuckled, at the response. "Ah," I spoke up, glancing at her ice cream. "Your ice cream is melting, there." I said, smiling.

She quickly spun the cone around, rapidly locating the melting area on the cone.

Sighing, I leaned back, looking up at the bright blue sky. It was quite the beautiful day.

It didn't take us long to finish up our ice cream and continue our hunt for the elusive birthday present. We'd already been here nearly two hours, and had nothing to show for it. The streets were busier than before, and we ended up taking the side alleys to avoid the large masses of people. I didn't want people bumping into Lilly constantly.

It was in one of these side alleys that I caught a glimpse of the side of a store facing one of the main streets. Walking around to the front of the store, I raised an eyebrow. It was an antique store. Looking up the street, I realized we'd been down this street before; several times.

"I think I just found another potential." I said to Lilly. "It's an antique store. No idea how I missed it before." I suppose Lilly's pestering had some merit after all.

"Oh?" Lilly asked, smiling. "Let's go inside, then." She suggested, bouncing excitedly. This was obviously very important to her.

Leading her in, I pushed the door open, eliciting a soft ringing from the bell attached to the door. Unlike the previous antique stores, it was quite well-kept. Everything was stacked and organized neatly, and not a single object in the entire store has even the slightest hint of dust on it.

I caught sight of an aged man at the other end of the store, behind a counter. He gave us a quick glance, clearly surprised to see someone as young as myself in the store. As my eyes passed through the store, I caught sight of several interesting antiques, including several dolls.

"Hmm… well, here's a pretty good selection of dolls…" I mumbled, glancing them over. "What kind does Hanako like?" I asked, my eyes passing back and forth along the shelves. There was quite the selection of dolls, and no two were even remotely similar. They all were different styles and ages.

"She'll like it if she feels that it was a personal choice from us." Lilly said simply.

Well, that didn't actually help with the decision all that much. There were a couple that weren't too crazy, nor too expensive. Some of the price tags up there were absolutely ludicrous.

Lilly's ears twitched as the shop keeper approached us, giving us a small smile. "Can I help you two?" he asked, clearly feeling nervous about our presence.

"We're birthday shopping." I responded, turning back to the dolls.

This seemed to surprise him. "Birthday shopping, hmm? Well, whoever you're shopping for must have less-conventional tastes." He joked, following my line of sight.

Lilly giggled at the comment, nodding. "She's definitely less-conventional than one might be used to." She replied. "But I don't think she'll care which one you pick, Mac." She said, facing me. "It's the thought that counts with her."

I spotted one that wasn't too insane looking. It was a plain-looking cloth doll in a modest green dress with dark purple hair. It was an… interesting color scheme, but I doubt Hanako would mind.

"I think I found one." I said, reaching for the doll. Pulling it down gently, I turned to the owner, gauging his reaction.

"Mmmh, I acquired that one… maybe a year ago." The man said, nodding as he looked over the doll. "The man I bought it from claimed that it was made nearly one hundred years ago, but it's honestly hard to say for sure." He said, shrugging. "But, everything from the cloth and thread to the stuffing used seemed to support the claim, so I didn't argue it."

Nearly a century old? Well, hopefully if the doll didn't have any notable background then the price wouldn't be too high. Besides, I didn't think Hanako would be particularly interested in owning a historical artifact.

The man led us to the front counter, where I set down the doll. "So, what'll it be?" I asked, crossing my fingers.

He tapped his chin, mulling it over. "Well, considering that it isn't terribly old, and that the credibility of the piece itself is questionable… how about 2,300 Yen?" he offered.

I was about to dust off my renowned haggling skills, when Lilly cut me off, seeming to detect my oncoming objection. "That'll be fine." She said, pulling out her wallet.

The man chuckled, giving me a grin as I frowned, putting on a deadpan expression. Wordlessly, I grabbed the doll, looking away. Maybe it was for the best, anyways. I'd actually caused the price on an object to increase before, so my bartering could have been a potential disaster.

Lilly giggled and turned, looping her arm in mind as she pulled us out of the store. Even though she took the long way out, it still blew my mind how she could memorize the layout of a store just by traveling through it once.

Nevertheless, her spirits were certainly much higher than before. She was obviously quite worried about leaving for school without a gift for Hanako. I groaned, realizing that I still didn't have a gift for her, nor did I have any idea what else I could get the girl.

Lilly seemed to notice this, and gently nudged my ribs. "It's not all bad." Lilly said, smiling. "You picked out my present, after all." She said, giggling. "I think Hanako will take that into account."

I chuckled, playfully nudging her back. "Yeah, probably." I said, sighing.

We wandered back towards the plaza area, though we were walking rather slowly. I imagine Lilly was giving me one last chance to find a gift before we left, as unlikely as that was to actually happen.

Lilly's head snapped up as we entered the plaza again, her head turning. "Oh…" she muttered, straining a little. "I think I recognize a voice…"

I glanced around, stunned. The plaza has at least a hundred people wandering around it at present. The fact that she recognized a voice in this mess was astounding. Lilly pulled me forward, listening carefully through the chatter. I helped navigate through the various people around us.

Lilly smiled widely as we got closer to her target, and I quickly took notice of whom it was she'd heard. Lilly walked us up to a rather tall blonde woman who had her back turned to us. She had short, erratic hair and was wearing a black suit.

"Akira!" Lilly exclaimed, rather loudly compared to her normal speaking tone.

The woman in black turned around, her dark red eyes passing over us as she chewed on a cinnamon roll, blinking in surprise. "Lilly?" she mumbled, talking around her food.

The two had a very strong resemblance to one another. Were they related?

Lilly gave Akira a hug, which Akira returned with gusto, lifting Lilly off the ground a little. Considering that Akira was not that much bigger than Lilly, that was quite the achievement. "I've missed you!" Lilly said again, embracing the other girl.

"Missed you too, sis." Akira said, trying desperately to finish her current mouthful of food. My suspicion that they were related had been spot-on after all. Given Akira's attire, I could probably guess that she was the elder sister.

Akira's eyes turned on me suddenly, and they narrowed suspiciously. "Man, it really has been quite a while. Hanako is _nothing_ like I remembered." She joked, probably for Lilly's benefit.

Lilly giggled cutely, turning around as she beckoned me closer. "Mac, this is my older sister Aira. Aira, this is Mac. He's one of my classmates."

I winced a little at the introduction. Being called a classmate seemed so… formal.

Akira was sharp as a tack, picking up on the social response immediately. "Awww, Lilly. No need to give a false impression on my account. If you two are dating, you can say so." She said, chuckling.

Lilly became immediately flustered at the implication, blushing and stammering. I'd never seen anyone get a response like that out of her. Oh, the joys of family. My reaction wasn't much better, though I managed to keep the reaction subdued. I shook my head stiffly, my cheeks burning red.

Akira chuckled, patting my shoulder. "I'm just teasing, guys. Chill." She said, hugging her sister loosely. "Nice to meet you, Mac." She said, giving me a wide grin.

"Nice to meet you too…" I mumbled, looking away. Akira was impossibly different from her reserved, formal sister. It was completely unexpected, especially considering her attire.

"I'm actually glad I caught you here, Lilly." Akira said, shooting me a quick glance. "I need to talk to you." She said. Her tone implied that it was a matter between the two of them.

I decided to save them the awkward job of asking me to leave. "Hey, Lilly? I saw a shop on the other side of the plaza I wanted to look at. You mind if I run off for a minute?" It wasn't actually a lie. I wanted another look at that carpenter's area.

"Not at all." Lilly replied, smiling. "Just be back soon!" she reminded me, waving at me as I turned away. I sent back a vague affirmation as I strolled across the plaza. Looking back, I saw Lilly and Akira pulling away to one of the side areas for some privacy. I wondered what that was all about.

I shrugged it off. Probably a family thing or something. "Now…" I mumbled, glancing around. "Where was it… ah." I declared, spotting the display of wooden carvings. It was genuinely impressive work, and the wood used was quite beautiful.

As I wandered around to the side of the store, I saw an open crafting area behind it. It appeared to be open to the public, and looked like an exposed wood shop area. Though the dangerous tools were absent, there were measuring tables as well as plenty of non-fatal equipment lying around.

The ground was littered with sawdust and bits of wood, and completed as well as unfinished pieces of work were scattered across the area.

"Can I help you?" came a voice from behind me. I jumped, spinning around as I rapidly faced whoever had snuck up on me.

It was a girl, probably a little older than me. She was wearing a pair of dirty overalls covering a black shirt, and her hair was tied up in a bandanna. In her right hand was a protractor, and in her right hand was a pencil. It was clear that she worked here.

"Ah, well… I'm kinda looking for a gift." I said, glancing around. I realized that this was obviously not the place for that.

The girl nodded, walking towards the back entrance of the store, gesturing me to follow. "I can probably find what you're looking for." She said, pulling off her bandanna. Her long red hair cascaded down her shoulders, and I couldn't help but be curious as to why she kept it so long if she worked in a profession like that.

"Do you run this whole store?" I asked, looking around.

She snorted, raising an eyebrow. "Are you kiddin'?" retorted, leading me into the store. "Nah. I'm just an apprentice. The owner's watching the store while I finish up on some commissions." She said, looking absolutely bored.

"Hey, old man!" she yelled, tossing her bandanna off to the side. "We've got a customer!"

I flinched as I followed her in through the door, my eyes flashing back and forth. There were large and small carvings all over the back of the store; though these ones appeared to be either for niche clients, or simply failures.

As I walked to the front of the store, I caught a glance of the 'old man' in question. I raised an eyebrow as I realized that he wasn't all that old. If he was any older than forty I'd be surprised. I was expecting some gruff, aged carpenter veteran. He simply rolled his eyes, catching a glimpse of me as I walked in.

The front displays of the store didn't do it any justice at all. They could only show off the smaller carvings that could fit on the shelves, but it was the larger ones that really impressed me. Large, stunning portrayals of animals littered the store, as well as a few human statues. The creations displayed a great deal of talent.

"So, what does your friend like?" the girl asked, turning around as we got to the center of the store.

"Books and chess." I answered honestly, chuckling at how stupid the reply sounded.

The girl turned around, shuffling through a collection of smaller pieces. "Well, that was easy enough." She said, turning back around. She had a small wooden rectangular box in her hands, which she handed to me. "How's that?" she asked, tilting her head.

Frowning, I opened the box. My eyes widened as I realized that it was a custom-made wooden chess board, fitted with carved pieces. On the bottom of each piece was the insignia for the store carved right into the wood. "Wow." I said simply, examining the craftsmanship.

The girl smirked, putting her hands on her hips. "Damn straight, 'wow'." She said. "That right there is one of my best projects."

"You made this?" I asked, suddenly very appreciative of the work that must have gone into this.

"Yeah." She replied, grinning. "One of my better works, if I do say so myself."

I blinked, closing the box. "This is perfect. How much for it?" I asked, pulling out my wallet.

"4,500 Yen!" she declared, causing me to twitch. She wasn't being serious, was she? That was absurd!

A large hand clipped the back of the girl's head, causing her to yelp and glare, turning around as she rubbed the back of her head. Standing behind her was the store owner. "We won't be charging more than 2,500 Yen for that." He said sternly, giving his apprentice a look. It was fairly obvious that this wasn't the first time it'd happened.

I chuckled, pulling out the required amount as I handed it to the girl, who was still sulking at the missed business opportunity.

"Will that be all?" she girl grumbled, pouting a little.

An idea clicked in my head as I thought about anything else I'd like to get, and I grinned. "Actually, there's something else." I said, turning to the older man. "Do you do custom requests?" I inquired.

* * *

I left the store shortly afterwards, clutching to my birthday gift for Hanako. The owner told me that my custom order would take some time to finish, and that I should check back in about a week.

As I wandered towards the plaza, I immediately spotted the two orbs of bright yellow among the sea of browns and blacks. Lilly and Akira were chatting pleasantly near where we'd had our ice cream break. Though they didn't appear to be discussing anything particularly private, Lilly had a somewhat somber aura around her. The smile on her lips seemed almost forced.

"I'm back." I said softly, grinning as only Akira seemed surprised by my presence. Lilly had heard me coming again.

"Ah, Mac." Lilly said, smiling. "Did you find anything at the store you went to?" she asked.

"Actually, I did." I said, cheerfully. "It's a hand-crafted chess board." I replied, smiling proudly.

Akira chuckled, glancing at the box I was holding. "So Hanako's still a chess junkie, eh?" she asked, grinning. "Figures. She's a bright kid."

Lilly smiled a little, looking awfully tired all of a sudden. "I'm sure she'll love it." She said softly. It was plain to see that something had happened while I was gone. I shot Akira a glance, who returned the look with a shrug. It obviously wasn't her place to tell, whatever it was.

"Well, I need to be off, kids." Akira said, standing up. She stretched briefly, turning towards us. "The guys at the office have probably all got their panties in a wad because of how long I've been gone." She said bluntly, shrugging.

I chuckled at her brazen statement.

Lilly smiled softly, standing up as well as she hugged her sister. "Thank you so much for showing up, Akira. It was wonderful to see you." Lilly said.

"You too, sis." Akira replied, rubbing her shoulders. "I'll be dropping by again on the sixth for the party, so I won't be gone all that long." She said, winking playfully.

Lilly ended the hug, smiling as she nodded, sighing. I could see a slight dampness around her eyes. Her sister must mean a great deal to her. Akira nodded briefly at me and waved, turning around and walking off into the crowd. Lilly sat there for several seconds, listening to the sound of her departure.

After about a minute she sighed wearily, turning to me. "I don't know about you, but I'm about ready to go back." Lilly said.

Given that the sun would be setting in less than an hour, I happened to agree with her on this one. "Yeah, I'm ready to go." I said. I stood up, and Lilly quickly took hold of my arm. I noticed that she was holding it tighter than usual.

She seemed to be lost in thought, so I left the issue alone. I planned on asking her about it, but not quite yet.

We walked in silence through the dwindling crowd of people. I roughly remembered where the bus stop was, but I had to consult with Lilly several times for directions. After about 10 minutes, we arrived at the bus stop that had dropped us off here. Looking at my watch, I clicked my tongue as I realized that the next bus wouldn't be here for a while yet.

Lilly shifted, scooting closer to me as we sat down on the bench near the bus stop. She bit her lip in her signature manner, signifying that there was something on her mind that she wanted to share, but was unsure about how to do it.

Maybe it was time for that push.

"Got something on your mind?" I asked, tilting my head curiously.

"Yes." Lilly said simply, looking away. "I'll be leaving soon." She said, my lips falling into a frown.

I blinked, a wave of anxiety coming over me. "Leaving?" I asked, trying desperately to keep my voice level.

"Temporarily." Lilly amended, picking up on my tone of panic. "Akira was in town to tell me that my aunt is… ill." She said.

I could deduce from the circumstances that 'ill' didn't mean down with a cold. I didn't know exactly what to say, so I simply stayed silent, rubbing her arm gently.

"I'll be going back to Inverness at the beginning of next month." She said, turning towards me.

"Before Hanako's party." I concluded.

Lilly nodded, hugging my arm. "I wanted to be here for Hanako's birthday, but that's not going to be possible, because I'm leaving on the 8th, so Akira suggested that we have the party on the 6th instead." She said, mumbling.

I nodded. It was a reasonable work around, and I doubted that Hanako would mind all that much. "How long will you be gone?" I asked, biting my lip.

Lilly sighed, shrugging. "I honestly am not sure. It could be a week, it could be a month. I won't be able to tell you until after I get there." She said, frowning.

I sighed, pulling her into a loose hug. "I'm gonna miss you." I said. I didn't know what else to say.

Lilly giggled for the first time since she'd gotten the news, hugging me back. "I'll miss you too, Mac. And I'll be counting on you to keep an eye on Hanako for me." She said, looking somber.

I paused, frowning. "What do you mean by 'keep an eye on her'?" I asked. I had a feeling that I was about to find out why Lilly was truly upset about leaving.

"Hanako… she gets rather… emotional on her birthday." Lilly said, choosing her words carefully. "I'm not sure why, but every year it's the same thing. The few days leading up to it show her getting more and more withdrawn, and then the day of her birthday, and the day after are usually the worst." She continued, sighing. "Last year she didn't even come out of her room for three days. And this year I won't be here to help her through it…"

Ah. Now I see the real problem behind this.

"You know I'll keep an eye on her." I assured her, rubbing her arm. "Hanako is just as much my friend as she is yours, and I'll make sure to check up on her during her birthday… I just don't know if I'll be able to do much." I admitted, frowning. "She doesn't trust me the same way she trusts you."

"I think if she at least knows you're checking up on her, that by itself will help a little." Lilly said, sitting up.

I chuckled, holding up my present. "I'll just constantly have her playing chess!" I declared jokingly, to which Lilly giggled again.

Thinking on this new information, it occurred to me that I'd have to make a slightly adjustment to the order I'd placed at the woodworker's store. Oh well, I'll come back tomorrow.

The rest of the wait for the bus passed swiftly, and Lilly and I discussed a myriad of topics. I discovered that her family was actually quite wealthy, and that Lilly had gotten sent to a private school surprisingly early in life. She hadn't seen her family in over 6 years, which was mind-blowing for me.

The bus came finally, and the discussion seemed to die after that. By the time we got back to the school, the sun was well beneath the horizon, and both of us were quite exhausted.

We walked together up until the path diverged between the two dorms. We said goodbye, enforcing it with a brief hug.

The walk back to my room could not have been short enough, and it was with great relief that I finally collapsed on my bed.

* * *

**Aaaand… done. Or, done enough. I sort of rushed the ending, but oh well.**

**As always, read and review, please.**


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